Ageless
by Jack Cross
Summary: My name is Ryou. I'm a non bender, a nobody, there's nothing special about me, except for one little detail. I'm almost five hundred years old. How will things go when I tangle with a certain hotheaded Avatar?
1. Prologue

**Greetings, internet! I'm back uploading yet another story that I really shouldn't when I've got several others that I need to be working on. Welp, once again I said to hell with it and decided to put it up.**

 **I do not, in any way, shape, or form own Legend of Korra.**

 _Life is like a road. It has it's ups and downs, it's pot holes, it's crossroads. Sometimes you travel alone, sometimes with companions at your side. Most people prefer to have a few companions in their life. A spouse, a lover, a good friend or two. But when you've walked it as long as I have, the road known as life can make you weary and lonely, no matter how many companions you may have._

 _My name is Ryou, and there is something highly unusual about me. You see, my body, aside from a few scars here and there, is the same as it was when I turned twenty._

 _Four hundred and sixty six years ago._

 _That's right, I'm four hundred and eighty six years old. I've lived a very long and active life, and I must say, I look damn good for being almost five hundred. But my life wasn't always like this. In fact, I had a fairly quiet childhood._

 _I grew up in a small village on the Katso Peninsula in the southern Earth Kingdom. Like my father and grandfather before me, I became a fisherman when I turned seventeen. For three years, all I ever knew was the nets and the boat I worked on. Like everyone else, we fished for the elephant coy that lived in the waters off shore. It was dangerous work, but it payed well._

 _Then came my twentieth birthday, and my life changed forever. For half that day, the crew and I battled what we thought was particularity feisty elephant coy. By the time all was said and done, the boat was a wreck on the ocean floor due to the damage done to it's hull, but the we'd managed to beach the creature responsible and get it ashore._

 _It wasn't an elephant coy like we thought, but rather a Ningyo. A creature the head of a monkey and the body of a huge goldfish. It's also so rare that even the most superstitious fishermen had dismissed it as legend. Now tradition held that if a boat was lost to a catch, the crew was allowed to eat the catch as a form of revenge of sorts. Several of the older fishermen demanded that we throw the creature back, claiming that catching a Ningyo brought bad luck._

 _But I was young, and brash. I dismissed the warnings as more superstition, cut myself a section of meat and went home. I cooked it up and ate it for my evening meal and went to bed quite satisfied with a belly full of food. The next day, I awoke to discover that bad luck had not, in fact, descended upon me like it was warned. In fact, quite the opposite happened._

 _That was the day I met Kyoshi._

 _I was in the Market, looking for a new job when I first saw her. She stood out, being an incredibly tall and well built young woman. The fact that she was the only woman in the Market wearing armor didn't help matters. But she walked with her head held high, ignoring the stunned and even disapproving looks being sent her way. She was breaking almost every aspect of the traditional way women dressed, and it was pretty evident that she didn't care._

 _Looking back now, I'm not really surprised. Kyoshi was never one for blending in, and this was before she wore the makeup and head band. Still, I found myself drawn to her in a way I can't explain. I followed her for a short distance, hoping to muster enough courage to talk to her._

 _She wound up beating the tar out of a drunken dock hand who tried forcing himself on a teenage girl. After leaving the man in a pool of his own blood and piss, Kyoshi offered to teach her how to defend herself so she would never have to fear anyone again. The girl, Lily happily accepted. I remember her well. She was Kyoshi's first student, and years later she would become the first Lieutenant of the Kyoshi Warriors._

 _After that, I finally mustered the courage to talk to her. We hit off pretty well, becoming fast friends. I was surprised to learn that she was the Avatar. She had just finished her firebending training, and making a quick stop home as she headed to the Air Temples to learn airbending._

 _Before she left, Kyoshi convinced to me to join the Katso Guard, our home providence's defense militia. She said that my life was being wasted as a fisherman, that she saw both the heart of a warrior and a good man in me. I joined the Guard, and was trained in the way of the sword. I quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a commander within a few short years._

 _It was many years before I saw Kyoshi again, and this time it wasn't under good circumstances. A warlord named Chin the Conqueror emerged from the north and began to sweep across the Kingdom. The Army of the Earth King retreated behind the high walls of Ba Sing Se, leaving the Providences to fend for themselves._

 _One by one, the Providences fell to Chin, until Katso was the only free place left. The Guard marched out to meet them, prepared to fight to the death in order to protect our home. To our surprise, we weren't the first ones out there on the neck of the peninsula to meet Chin. Kyoshi, now a fully realized Avatar, faced down his army by herself. Rather then use her power to destroy the invaders, she severed the peninsula from the mainland and created an Island._

 _Chin fell to his death from a cliff, and his army disbanded shortly afterward. Kyoshi was hailed as a hero, and the new island was renamed after her in her honor. Although her duties as the Avatar called her away from time to time, she remained on the island. She began to train the Kyoshi Warriors in earnest, building them into a formidable force._

 _Despite this, there were still some lingering prejudices in the Guard ranks, so she turned to me to train them in the way of the sword. I happily took the job, leaving the Guard behind and becoming an unofficial commander in the Warrior's ranks. From there, our relationship grew, and our daughter Koko was born a few years later._

 _It wasn't until my forty fifth birthday that I started to realize that something wasn't right. Everyone around me was beginning to show the signs and effects of growing older, while I remained as youthful as ever. For a while, I dismissed it as the fruits of having an active life and healthy diet. But as I entered my sixties, and then seventies, I knew that whatever was happening wasn't natural._

 _As curious as I was, I wasn't about to leave my family to go wandering the world in search of an answer. Years passed, and friends passed away from old age. Not even my beloved Kyoshi could stave off time forever. She gave it one hell of a fight though, lasting until the ripe age of two hundred and twenty six before time finally won out. I oversaw the transfer of power to Koko before leaving to travel the world and maybe find out why time seemed to ignore me._

 _Eventually I learned more about the creature I had fought on my twentieth birthday. According to legend, eating the flesh of a Ningyo will bless (or curse, depending on your point of view) a person with agelessness. Unless felled in battle, I would continue to walk the Earth as if not a day had passed, while those around me would age and die._

 _After several years of wandering aimlessly, I met the next Avatar; Roku. He was really nothing like Kyoshi was. He came from nobility, while Kyoshi had been born dirt pour. But we became good friends all the same. Roku was a good man, and a fair Avatar. I was deeply saddened when I learned of his death on his small island in the Fire Nation._

 _I decided to go looking for the next Avatar, and offer my services in training he or she in a defense art that didn't involve one of the bending elements. Seeing as the next Avatar would be an Air Nomad, I set out to locate the Air Temples. One by one, over the course of twelve years I found them, hidden away in extreme places in the four corners of the Earth. Finally, I learned of his identity. It was a boy named Aang who lived at the Southern Temple._

 _But fate is a cruel mistress. As I was journeying there, Fire Lord Sozin enacted his genocide and wiped out the Temples. For a few years afterward, I clung to the hope that Aang had somehow survived. And when that seemed like it wasn't the case, I turned to the Water Tribes in hopes of finding the next incarnation. For a decade I scoured both the Northern and Southern Tribes, but to no avail. I began to lose hope, so I threw myself into the war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world._

 _For a hundred years I fought, hoping to find death on the end of a spear or sword. But clash after clash, battle after battle, siege after siege, no matter how many times I entered the fray, death spared me again and again. By the time the final year of the war arrived, I had grown suicidal in my battles. But then, something happened that restored my hope._

 _The Avatar returned._

 _It turns out that Aang had managed to escape the Air Nomad Genocide, and had spent these past hundred years frozen in an iceberg. He had gathered a group of friends and was working to stop the Fire Lord. By the time news reached me of Aang's return, the Fire Nation had already captured Ba Sing Se and any remaining holdouts were fighting a desperate resistance. I made my way to the Capital, and joined the Order of the White Lotus in their liberation of the city._

 _After the war ended, I helped Aang and the new Fire Lord, Zuko, restore peace and establish a new nation out of the Fire Nation colonies. We built the capital of this new nation on the shores of a bay near the city of Taku. It didn't take long for Republic City to blossom from a small settlement into a full blown metropolis._

 _Time passed, and eventually I found myself wandering again. Four years ago, I got word that Aang had passed away. I was saddened by my long time friend's passing, but it was time to start the search all over again. Recently, I heard that the Avatar had been found again, this time in the form of a young girl in the Southern Water Tribe._

 _There was only one way to see if the roamers were true or not._

 _ **White Lotus Compound. South Pole.**_

A light snow fell from a dull gray sky. Katara stood watching the flakes lightly float to the ground. The aged waterbending master took a moment to reflect all she had accomplished in her life, all the ups and downs. She'd traveled the world, taught the Avatar waterbending, and raised a family, just to name a few things.

Then, four years ago, her husband Aang had passed away. Katara grieved heavily for him, which was helped when her daughter Kya returned. After a while, she'd managed to accept Aang's death. She still missed him dearly, but she found some solace in her new task in life: training the next Avatar.

In front of her, a four year old girl ran through the snow, laughing as she chased the polar bear dog pup. Katara smiled at the sight of the girl. She was wearing a dark blue parka that was about two sizes too big and hung off of her like a dress. Tripping, the girl landed face down in the snow, but was back up on her feet in a flash like nothing had ever happened.

The sound of shouting turned Katara's attention away from the girl to the gates of the compound. Several White Lotus guards were standing around a lone figure, all of them poised to attack. Curious, she made her way over to the commotion. The figure, a man, was wearing a charcoal gray coat with its hood up. A scarf covered his nose and mouth, leaving only his eyes visible. A pack of supplies was slung over his shoulder, and a black katana rested on his hip.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Master, this man was trying to enter the Compound without proper clearance," one of the Sentries answered. Katara studied the man in more detail. He reached up and pulled the scarf down, reveling his face. His face was had a tan complexion, suggesting a possible Water Tribe ancestry. Although his face suggested that he was no older then twenty, his eyes said that he was much older.

"Hello, Katara," he said, giving a small smile and a respectful bow of his head. Katara returned the smile.

"It's okay. This man is a friend," she said. The Sentries stood down, but remained tense. He strode forward and embraced Katara in a hug, and she happily returned it.

"It's good to see you Ryou," she said when they pulled back.

"You as well. You look good, Katara."

"Not like you. You haven't aged a day, I'm jealous." Ryou snorted at that. The Sentries stole glances at each other with confusion. There was obviously some kind of inside joke there.

"I'm guessing this isn't a social call," Katara said as they began to walk, her voice containing a hint of seriousness. Ryou nodded.

"I heard roamers that 'the one' had been found. If you're here, I'm guessing they're true," he said. Katara gave another smile to her old friend before she turned toward the girl and the polar bear dog pup.

"Korra, please come here for a moment," she called. The girl, Korra, slid to a halt and turned her head toward the waterbending master. She looked back at her pet for a moment before trotting over.

"What is it, Master Katara?" she asked got close.

"There is someone I want you to meet. Korra, this is Ryou." Ryou bowed his head slightly out of respect.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. Korra cocked her head to the side, the small pony tails that dangled down the side of her head falling out of the hood she had up.

"You look familiar, have you been here before?" she asked.

"Ryou was a good friend of Aang's," Katara explained.

"Oh. Well, hello again. Sorry for not remembering you fully," Korra said. Ryou smiled at the girl.

"That is okay, little one. You are a whole new person now, after all," he said.

"You can go back to playing now," Katara said. Korra broke into a grin and sprinted back toward her polar bear dog. Both of them watched her go in silence.

"She's only four, Ryou. She's still to young for training," Katara said.

"I have no intention of teaching her this early. The whole point of this visit was to see old friends," he said before casting a glance toward the girl, "all of them."

"She knows about Aang. Do you want me to tell her about the others as well?"

"No. I will do that when the time comes. The world is a very complex place. For now, let her have some innocence," Ryou said.

"Will you stay?" Katara asked. Silence fell between the two as he pondered his answer.

"For the night. I was filled in on this group that tried to kidnap her. I'm headed to the Earth Kingdom to track down a few leads."

"You never stay in one place for very long," Katara commented, a hint of sadness in her voice. Ryou remained silent as he watched the girl continue to play as if they weren't even there. Even now, as a small child, he could already tell that she was different from her predecessors. The cycle of the Avatar, like the cycle of the seasons, had began anew. And like he was facing the new year, Ryou couldn't help but wonder what this new Avatar had in store for the world.

 **And done. I had this idea bouncing around in my head and figured I had to get it out. Hopefully you guys found it enjoyable. Drop a review, leave a pm, let me know what you liked or didn't like and I'll see you all in the next one.**


	2. Thirteen Years

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. It took a lot longer then I wanted to get this chapter out, but a lot of people have showed interest in this story and I hope that despite it's shortness it doesn't disappoint.**

 _ **Thirteen years later.**_

Thirteen years. That's how long it's been since I left the Southern Compound. I've walked this Earth for almost five hundred years, and these past thirteen definitely rank up there amongst the longest. I thought that a couple hundred years of combat experience would be enough to let me track down the group that tried to kidnap the Avatar with ease.

I was wrong.

Thirteen years of picking and prodding through every lead I could get left me no closer to finding the leaders then anyone else. So here I was, disembarking from a cargo ship in the Southern Water Tribe over a decade after I had left. Giving up my pursuit wasn't the only reason for my return. I had said that I would train the Avatar when she was of proper age.

Korra was seventeen now, that was old enough.

I reslung my rucksack over my shoulder and set off in the direction of the compound. The few meager possessions I had in the bag, along with the sword I had across my back was all I had in the world. When you wander, it's easier to get around without a lot weighing you down. And when you've done it as long as I have, you find that you really don't need that much.

"Halt! State your name and intent!" came a voice from overhead. A pair of White Lotus guards were glaring down at me from the Compound ramparts. I looked up and placed my hand on my brow, blocking the glare of the sun.

"Go and tell the Grand Lotus and Master Katara that a man named Ryou is at the gate," I replied. For a moment it seemed as if nothing would happen. Then one of the guards vanished over the wall, going to find his superiors and leaving his partner to continue glaring at me. I folded my arms and lightly tapped my foot as we waited. I'd taken a mild interest in scrapping random shapes into the snow with my boot tip by the time the gates swung open.

Both Katara and the Commander were waiting on the other side, each with their own posture. Katara's was that of someone who was happy to see an old friend again, while the Commander's showed that he still thought of me as an annoyance at best. He hadn't aged well over the past thirteen years either. What had once been brown hair was now gray and receding.

"Ryou, it's good to see you," Katara greeted warmly. I gave a small respectful bow.

"You as well, old friend," I replied before embracing her in a hug.

"What do you have to report on the status of your investigation?" the Commander asked as we broke apart. I gave him an annoyed glare.

"You have my reports, Commander," I replied. I had sent regular updates over the years, and had even sent word ahead of my impending arrival. He was trying to get a rise out of me.

"I want a personal report," he said.

"Look, kid. I don't answer to the White Lotus, alright?" I said, a little harsher then intended. Katara's face remained stoic, but her eyes shined with unheard laughter. The Commander's face turned beat red, but rather than retort he turned and marched off while muttering under his breath.

"So how is the little protege doing these days?" I asked as we walked deeper into the Compound.

"Korra completed her final firebending test just today. She's really accelerated with her bending over the years. Now all that's left is airbending," she replied. I smiled. Mastering the four elements was something the Avatar had done so many times now, each new incarnation should be able to do it in their sleep.

"Ryou, I must warn you that Korra is the opposite of how Aang was. She is very stubborn, hot headed, and short tempered," Katara warned.

"So was Kyoshi when I first met her," I said, smiling as I thought back to that day. Kyoshi and I had never married, but we considered ourselves to be husband and wife after so many years together. It also made it easier to transfer things to Koko when Kyoshi died. I had no interest in claiming anything that was hers. I had my memories, and I had my daughter, and that was enough.

"Where is she, anyway?" I asked. Looking around, I found no one who fit the proper age other than a few White Lotus Sentries.

"Korra is out riding her Polar Bear Dog. She'll be back soon. For now, let's get you settled in," Katara replied. I was given a small with humble accommodations. A single bed against the wall, a window, a desk, and a footlocker to store my things in. Simple, just the way I liked it. After putting my things away, I made my way back out to the training yard in order to see what I had to work with.

Most of the equipment there was designed to train with the elements. With a little modification, I could use it to my advantage. I also found a few straw dummies along with a pair of wooden training swords. Taking one of the swords, I began to move through the basic forms, getting a feel for the weapon.

It was just before sundown when Korra finally returned. I had been so immersed in practice that I hadn't even noticed her presence until Katara called her over.

"Korra, come and greet our guest," she said, getting my attention. The young woman in question came over to us, eying me curiously. I did the same to her. She had changed a lot over the past thirteen years. Gone was the small girl playing in the snow. In her place was a strong, beautiful young woman.

"Have we met before? You look familiar," she said. I cast a glance at Katara, and both of us smiled.

"We have, sometime ago," I replied.

"Ryou visited the Compound when you were a little girl," Katara supplied. Korra's eyes went wide with recognition of my name.

"Wait, not The Ryou? The one from your stories?"

"Underwhelmed?" I asked. She gaped at me like a fish out of water.

"No offense, but I was expecting someone older," she said.

"I am a lot older then I look," I said, giving the Avatar a tired smile.

"Ryou is here to train you in defense arts that do not involve bending," Katara said. Korra's expression changed from one of awe to disappointment.

"Not another one of these self defense instructors," she moaned.

"I don't just focus on self defense," I defended, but Korra was already walking away in a huff. I felt a little insulted. Almost five hundred years of combat experience, just to be degraded to 'self defense instructor'?

"That's what the last guy said. I don't need your training, I can handle anything," she said over her shoulder. Could she now? Let's put the cocky little teenager back in her place. I gave the training sword I was holding a twirl before throwing it like a spear. The wooden weapon sailed past Korra's head and impaled itself in the gut of one of the training dummies. Korra whirled around, startled.

"At arms, Avatar!" I snapped, "Show me what you can do!" Her eyebrow twitched before she grabbed the training sword and yanked it free of the dummy. She charged me head on, a battle cry on her lips as she raised the weapon over her head, intending to bring it down squarely on my forehead like a woodsman splitting a log.

Before she could react, I had side stepped her while simultaneously tripping her and freeing the sword from her grasp. The result was the Avatar lying face down in the snow while I stood over her with the training sword.

"You lack restraint," I said. Her answer was to slash her hand through the air. A stream of ice rocketed from the ground, straight at my head. I ducked and pivoted on the balls of my feet. The sword came around and cracked her upside the head. She fell back to the ground, seeing stars. As she started to try and get up again, I planted my boot firmly in the middle of her gut while pointing the sword tip at the spot between her eyes.

"You can strike at me again and again with the elements but the result with always be the same. Obviously you are skilled at bending, but when it comes to fighting without the elements you are sorely lacking," I said. Korra wouldn't meet my gaze, looking away in shame. I used the tip of the training tool to nudge her cheek so that she was looking at me.

"There are fighting styles out there designed to counter bending, even thrive against it. I can teach you how to counter and win against them. But in order to do that, you must be willing to learn," I said before taking my boot off of her and offering the training sword to her hilt first. Korra took it and got to her feet. She walked off toward the mess hall in silence, her head hung.

I'd embarrassed her, and bruised her ego.

"I see your training methods haven't changed," Katara said.

"We all think we're immortal at that age. It seemed like the best way to get through to her," I replied.

"Not all of us actually are immortal."

"Ageless, not immortal," I corrected her, "there is a difference." There is actually a difference. Immortal, by definition, means that you cannot die no matter what. Ageless simply means that you don't age. I would never grow old, but I can still bleed like anyone else. Sure I'm more resistant to diseases, and all but the strongest poisons will just make me sick. But if you stab me, I'll bleed out like a normal person.

"You are not wearing your normal sword," Katara stated. Even in old age, the woman had eyes like a hawk.

"I returned it to is place at the Shrine on Kyoshi Island," I said.

"I'm surprised. A sword like that, I didn't think you would let it out of your sight. It was what inspired Sokka to forge his own sword out of a meteor after all," she said.

"It's frowned upon to wear weapons in the cities these days. And besides, it was time to return it to its proper place anyway," I said. The sword, my personal katana, had been forged shortly after my fiftieth birthday. As a gift Kyoshi had presented me with some metal that had broken off of Sozin's Comet, although back then it was just known as the Great Comet.

The resulting sword that was forged was one of the strongest ever created. Years later, when Toph invited metalbending, we discovered that she couldn't bend the weapon. In this day and age, when metalbenders are a possible threat, that was a good advantage to have. But I had taken it back to the Shine to Kyoshi. It didn't feel right, keeping the sword separated from Kyoshi's armor. My descendants were all to happy too receive it

See here's the thing about the Kyoshi Warriors, and Kyoshi Island in general. Each village has its own company of warriors, numbers depending on the size of the village, and each village has a Lieutenant that is in charge. But they all answer to one single overall Commander. Tradition has dictated that the Commander of the Kyoshi Warriors be a descendant of Kyoshi herself. The kicker is, Kyoshi only ever had one child.

With me.

Which means that the current Commander of the Kyoshi Warriors is my five times great granddaughter. She's a nice woman by the name of Akira. Proud and strong, just like her mother. You may have heard of her, her name was Suki. Yes, that Suki, the one that was apart of Team Avatar. Suki was one of the greatest Commanders the Warriors had ever seen, on par with Kyoshi herself, and I was incredibly proud of what my granddaughter had accomplished in her life.

It's a closely guarded secret family secret that Grandpa Ryou is still alive, usually reserved for only the one holding the rank of Commander. It's only passed on when the old Commander retires or is killed in battle. So when I returned to Kyoshi Island to return the sword, I was just a generous collector who had stumbled across the weapon and was eager to see it returned to its proper place.

"Tenzin and his family are due within a few days," Katara said. I smiled at the thought of my adoptive nephew. He'd been a scrawny, no nonsense kid when he was younger. Not as brash as his older brother, Bumi, or as carefree as his sister Kya, and he'd grown into a respectable man and leader, as well as a father.

"How many kids does he have now?" I asked. Out of the three, Tenzin was the only one who'd had children.

"Three, two girls and a boy, with a fourth on the way," Katara reported proudly. I smiled at that, proud of what had become of him. There was also a twinge of sadness in my heart. I'd seen generations come and generations go, all the while I'd been forced to go on. It got tiring to say the least.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to skip supper tonight," I said, deciding to change the topic. My old friend frowned at the sudden change.

"Are you feeling well?" she asked. I nodded and gave a reassuring smile.

"Yes. It's been a long time since I've had a chance to meditate," I explained. She smiled and I was excused. With that I made my way back to my room. Once inside, I lit a few candles and sat with my legs folded, my eyes closed, and the lights off. The only illumination in the room came from the candles themselves. Passage of time could only be measured as the small towers of wax got shorter and shorter.

Here's the thing, I've been in more battles then I care to think about. I saw action all throughout the Hundred Year War. And to this day I'm still haunted by it. I close my eyes and I can still see images of battles long past as if they had just happened. The Fall of Taku, the Six Hundred Day Siege of Ba Sing Se just to name a couple. Meditating has helped me maintain my composure over the years.

A soft knock came from the door. I almost didn't notice it, and I almost ignored it in an effort to maintain my privacy. But, I was a guest here, and it would be rude if I stayed shut in all by myself.

"Come in," I said. The door opened and Korra slipped into the room. I had to admit, after what had happened in the training yard, I was surprised to see her here.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for my behavior earlier," she said, grasping her right arm with her left hand like she was nervous. By her posture, I could tell she didn't apologize very often.

"I guess you could say that I was a little taken aback by how young you are, given everything I've heard about you," she explained. I gave her a small smile at that.

"And just how young do you think I am?" I asked. Now it was her turn to frown as she looked me over.

"Your appearance says that you're not much older then me. About nineteen or twenty," she said.

"And the stories?"

"The stories have you being old, like in your eighties or nineties. When I saw you this afternoon and learned your name, I thought that Ryou was a surname or maybe just a name past on from father to son," Korra said. I stood up from the bed and went into my footlocker. Korra watched with interest as I dug out a small old shovel. It was only about two feet in length, with a simple blade and wooden handle. The age was showing as the blade was beginning to rust and the wood had lost it luster.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked, holding the shovel up.

"Um, an old shovel?" she asked, confused.

"This, is a standard issue E-Tool that was used by the Earth Kingdom army during the Hundred Year War."

"E-Tool?"

"An Entrenchment Tool. Non Earthbender units were issued them. We used them quite extensively during the Siege of Ba Sing Se," I said.

"You make it sound like you were there," Korra said with a small laugh.

"I was." The Avatar went rigid as she began to grasp what I was saying. I could tell from that look on her face that she was divided. Half of her was in awe, and the other half didn't believe me.

"That's...impossible," she finally uttered out.

"I've seen many things that are impossible," I replied. Korra reached out and took the shovel from me. She looked over the aged wood with a sense of reverence, gently tracing her fingers over it.

"Say I did believe you," she started, "did you know my past lives?"

"You know I was good friends with Aang," I deadpanned.

"Yeah, I know. What I mean is was Aang the only one you knew? Or are you not that old?"

"Roku was a very wise man. His favorite past time was Pai Sho," I said with a smirk. Korra could only gape at me. Maybe it was the outlandishness of what my statement implied, or maybe it was how smug and confident I was about it.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"Now, now, it's not polite to ask someone their age," I teased. The Avatar glared at me, and for a moment I was afraid she'd brain me with my own shovel.

"Four hundred and sixty six." She blinked in surprise before her eyes went to the middle of her forehead as she did the math in her head.

"So...if you're telling the truth, then you knew Kyoshi," she said. I smiled at the memory of Kyoshi.

"You could say that."

"You were good friends?" I took the shovel from her and placed it back into the footlocker.

"She was my wife."

"Your...your wife?"

"Look, Korra I've been this Earth for a very long time. I've found that the best way to handle all of that is to focus on the present, so if you please, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Okay. Um, goodnight, I guess," she said as she went to the door.

"Goodnight, Korra."

 **And there we have it. I've been having some computer trouble that delayed this and other projects. But now that this has been resolved, more chapters should be produced much more quickly. Please, don't hesitate to review, leave a PM, state what you like or didn't like or even ask a question or two, and I'll see you all next time.**


	3. Ghosts and Monsters

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. A lot of people have requested that I get the new chapter out for this so here it is.**

 _The sky was a burnt orange color. Embers and ashes floated down like snowflakes on a soft breeze. She didn't seem to notice. Her leg felt like it was on fire, which wasn't surprising considering it actually had been not that long ago. A cut on her left arm left the limb dangling at her side, almost useless. She had tried using it, but with the pain it barely responded._

 _Her robes, once a bright mixture of yellow and orange, were now dulled with soot and dirt. They clung to her flesh because of sweat, and burned her along her leg where the clothing still smoldered. She leaned heavily on her staff, using it as a crutch. After a short while of hobbling, she collapsed against a low wall with a pain filled cry. Between her arm and her leg, the pain was too much, she couldn't keep running._

 _"Done running now?" came a male voice from overhead. She looked up to find two men standing over her. Both of them were wearing red armor, their faces covered by white skull like masks. One of them leveled a spear, while the other raised his hands into a bending position._

 _"Enough toying with her, let's just get this over with," the bender said. The one with the spear took a few experimental jabs at her._

 _"Na, look at her eyes, she's still got a little fight left in her," he said._

 _"She's wounded. There's no honor in it. Just kill her and be done with it," the bender said. The spear user raised his weapon._

 _"I'm gonna make her squeal like a stuck pig, and then I'm gonna watch what little is left of that fight in her eyes fade," he said as he took a step closer. Suddenly, a sword erupted from the center of the spear user's chest, it's gleaming blade piercing the man's armor as if it was nothing. The spear clattered to the ground as it's wielder grasped at the blade._

 _"What the?!" the bender shouted in surprise. The impaled man was turned and thrust forward, tumbling into the bender before he could do anything. She realized that there was a third man standing behind the first two. This one wore a gray cloak with it's hood up, hiding his face. He had withdrawn his sword, a katana, from the first man by kicking him into the bender, and now held the blade at the ready in a downward curve._

 _The bender threw off the body of the his comrade and shot a bolt of fire at the swordsman. But the swordsman easily dodged the blast, ducking under it and stabbing his blade into the throat of the bender. He removed it just as quickly, leaving the man to clutch at his jugular as he collapsed before sheathing his sword._

 _"Can you move?" the swordsman asked, turning his head to look down at her. She managed to pull herself to her feet, despite the screaming pain in her leg and arm._

 _"What...who?" she asked. The man stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her so she didn't collapse again._

 _"There was suppose to be a boy named Aang here, about twelve or so, with master tattoos," he said._

 _"I don't know any of that, the Sisters were always in charge of the Temple, I haven't even gotten my tattoos yet," she replied._

 _"What is your name?"_

 _"Renchin," she said._

 _"Alright Renchin, I want you to listen to me carefully. Due west of here is Earth Kingdom territory, you are to fly there, get yourself some different clothes. Blend in with the locals. Head for the city of Gaoling and I'll meet you there," he said._

 _"Why should I do any of that? I don't even know your name, why should I trust you?" she asked. The man lowered his hood, showing off his short brown hair and tanned complexion._

 _"My name is Ryou, and I'm the man that is going to save your life."_

I jerked awake from the dream, sitting up in my bunk. When you've been alive as long as I have, it's not surprising that you start to pick up ghosts. Renchin was just one of many that haunted me. Running a hand over my face, I stood and dressed for the day. Today was Korra's first official day under my training. It was also the day that Tenzin and his family was scheduled to arrive from Republic City.

Despite the frigid temperatures, I was dressed relatively light, using only a light jacket that hung down to my knees. For what I was going to be teaching today, my clothing needed to be as light as possible so as not to hinder my movements. I didn't eat either, having learned a long time ago about taking a hit to the gut on a full stomach the hard way.

To my surprise, I found Korra waiting in the training yard wearing some padded gear in anticipation for our session. The scowl on her face, however, indicated that she still didn't fully approve of this.

"Good morning," I greeted. The Avatar gave a tired grunt. She clearly wasn't a morning person. I wasn't either, but after almost five centuries of rising with the sun it grows on you.

"The morning is evil," Korra said. I smirked at that, she wasn't wrong.

"We'll start off with basic forms," I said as I tossed her one of the wooden training swords. She twisted and turned it a few times, even taking a few practice swings.

"Weapons feel...strange," she said. Again, I was unsurprised. Up until now, her training had dealt with bending only. Bending just required hand and foot movements, the rest was up to the element in question.

"The key is to remember not to think of it as a sword or a weapon or even a tool, but an extension of your own body," I said as I assumed a ready position. Korra mimicked my stance, getting a feel for it.

"So like an extra long arm?" she asked.

"Exactly." With that, I began to slowly move her through the basic motions. Once she had that down, the speed was increased a little with each time. Korra was a quick learner. When it came to fighting motions, she was a natural warrior. To test this, just when she was getting confident in her movements, I would make a sudden change. She adapted quickly, just like I figured she would.

It was late morning when I finally called an end to the session. I hadn't broken a sweat, but my movements had been enough to keep me warm. Korra on the other hand was out of breath and sweating.

"That was tougher than I thought it would be," she said when she'd finally caught her breath.

"The way of the sword takes many years to master," I said with a smile, "but I can already tell you'll make a fine warrior." Her cheeks turned a rosy color, possibly from the air, but more likely from my complement. With that, we parted for lunch. It was mid afternoon when a sky bison appeared over the walls of the compound.

I admired the creature as I stood side by side with Katara, waiting for it to land. The sky bison had always been a majestic creature in my eye, although not nearly as majestic as the nomads who once rode upon their backs. I found myself frowning at the memory. The Air Nomads were gone, despite the efforts I had put forward to save them. Now, only Tenzin and his family remained.

The Airbending Master dismounted from his bison, along with three children of varying ages. The two girls were the oldest, appearing to be about ten and seven respectively. Clinging to, and gnawing on, his father's head was the youngest, a bald headed boy about the age of five or so. I smiled at the sight, having watched Tenzin grow up myself. It was nice to see him with a family of his own.

"Hello, mother. You cannot possibly know how happy I am to see you. Please, help me," he said as the boy rocked back and forth on his shoulders while clinging to his ears. Katara chuckled as she reached up and plucked her only grandson off of her son's shoulders.

"Unhand me, strange woman!" the boy shouted as he began to squirm around in her arms.

"That's your grandmother, Meelo," Tenzin said before he turned his attention to me. His look was one of awe.

"Master Ryou?" he asked, clearly stunned.

"Hello, Tenzin. It's good to see you again," I replied.

"You don't look a day older then the last time I saw you," he said. Katara flashed a jealous glare my way, but I simply smiled in response. The eldest of Tenzin's children came forward. She eyed me suspiciously before turning toward her grandmother.

"Gran Gran, I've been reading all your old journals and I've been wondering, whatever happened to Zuko's mom?" she asked. Ah yes, the tale of what had become of Ursa, mother of Fire Lord Zuko. I hadn't actually been there, you see.

At the time I was dealing with a pirate enclave that was operating out of the Southern Isles. Zuko had personally requested that I handle it, and had even given me a detachment of Kyoshi Warriors in order to handle it. After the War ended, the new tradition had been established that the best detachment of Kyoshi Warriors would be the Fire Lord's personal bodyguards. It was good working with Suki and I don't mean to brag, but there hasn't been pirate activity in the Southern Isles since.

"Well Jinora, it's an incredible tale...," Katara started, her eyes lighting up as she began to tell her granddaughter the story. At the moment, however, Tenzin's middle child interrupted. She talked at a fast pace while at the same time bouncing up and down in place. Both Katara and Jinora gave her an exasperated look, but she kept right on chatting as if she didn't notice.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get the answer she sought from her grandmother anytime soon, Jinora turned her attention to me. I had yet to actually meet any of Tenzin's children. The last time I had actually seen him had been about seventeen years ago, shortly after Aang's death. This girl had his thirst for knowledge, I could see that just by looking in her eyes. The way she looked at me was like I was some kind of puzzle that she was determined to solve.

"Have we met before?" she asked.

"No, we haven't," I replied. She tapped her finger on her chin.

"I know that I've seen you somewhere before," she said.

"If you've been reading my journals, then perhaps you saw a picture of him in there," Katara stated innocently. I shot a glare at her, and she just gave a sweet smile. Something she had found entertaining as she had grown older was putting me in situations where I would have to explain my...condition to people. I knew for a fact that there were multiple pictures, both paintings and photographs that depicted me in her journal.

"Thanks, Gran Gran," Jinora said as she ran off toward the sky bison, eager to dig in her pack and see what her grandmother was talking about. I closed my eyes and sighed, mentally bracing for the barrage of questions that were undoubtedly heading my way.

* * *

"I knew it, I knew I had seen you somewhere before," Jinora said as she walked into the room, holding an old leather bound book. We'd been preparing for the evening meal when she slammed the book down and flipped it open to a bookmarked page. The entry was regarding Aang's eighteenth birthday, and tucked in with the pages was a photo of Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and myself as we celebrated.

After plucking this picture out, Jinora flipped to the second bookmarked page. This one covered Aang and Katara's wedding. The photo was of the wedding group as they stood around the alter, and there standing amongst the groomsmen was the smiling face of yours truly.

"Wow, that actually is you," Korra said as she looked over the pair of photographs. I gave her an annoyed look. Obviously by her reaction to the photos, she still hadn't fully embraced my story. Well, until now at least.

"Weren't you going to ask your grandmother about Zuko's mom?" I asked, hoping to change the topic. Jinora shook her head, her eyes wide and bright with curiosity.

"No. This is far more interesting. It's not a picture of your dad like I thought," she said as she held up one of the pictures next to my face, "it's a picture of YOU." I snatched the picture from her grasp.

"Some stories will be told when you're older," I said as I put it and it's partner back in their respective places. I hated explaining myself to people, and frankly my story was far too bloody to tell a little kid. Jinora pouted all the same, even if she didn't seem to understand my reasoning. Korra even gave me a look of disappointment. I guess being confronted with actual proof of my story was starting to change her opinion of me.

* * *

I awoke to find the compound in a state of chaos. The guards were running back and forth like chickens with their heads cut off. For being a disciplined force, the White Lotus was letting panic settle in way to easily. I looked over the confusion with a mild interest. Something had happened during the night for them to be in this state of frenzy, what it was though remained a mystery.

Tenzin and his family had gone back to Republic City the previous evening, leaving Korra behind. The Airbending Master's reasoning was that there was a lot of civil unrest in the city, and as a Council Member he was required to be present. This was also a reason for Korra to stay as far away from the city as possible. There was no way that they could guarantee her safety in a political climate that was that unstable.

Personally I found the reasoning pointless and redundant. What were they going to do once Korra had mastered the elements and was ready to go out into the world on her own? She would be the Avatar, but a sheltered Avatar, one with no understanding of the people or how the world worked. All of her previous lives, at least the ones I had encountered, had traveled the world for much of their lives, and as such understood the people of the world. The longer she stayed in this compound, the more damaging the effects could be on her relationship skills.

"Ryou!" the Commander shouted, gaining my attention. I turned toward him, my curiosity supplanting the annoyance I felt at his presence.

"Where is she?" he asked, his tone accusing me of some unspoken crime.

"Who?"

"The Avatar. She disappeared last night, and you were the last one to see her, where is she?" he asked again. I frowned, feeling betrayed but unsurprised. Korra was so eager to get started on her airbending that virtually nothing was going to stop her. The fact that she had left me behind also wasn't a surprise, she didn't seem to like me very much.

"How should I know? This is the first I've heard about it," I answered honestly.

"Korra has gone to Republic City," Katara said, speaking up for the first time and gaining both of our attention.

"She what? She was ordered to stay put!" the Commander sputtered.

"You don't have kids, do you?" I asked. He glared at me, but otherwise remained silent.

"I'll go after her," I continued, ignoring his look.

"Nonsense, we'll deploy the entirety of the White Lotus..."

"And make yourselves look like fools," I interrupted, "Your mission has been to protect and observe, Commander, nothing more. I've been a hunter for almost five hundred years. If anyone can track down a teenager with no real world experience, it's me."

"Ryou does have more experience in tracking down Avatars then anyone alive," Katara stated. The Commander looked like he was about to pop a vein in his forehead. But after a minute, he finally had to concede to Katara's point.

"Very well, you may go after the Avatar. But you are to report your position the instant you find her," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, if I remember," I said over my shoulder as I was already walking away to gather my things. I packed up my light travel gear and set out, heading toward the Port. Given what I knew about Korra, I figured there were only so many ways she could leave the South. Being as she had no money what so ever, virtually all those ways involved being a stowaway. The first place I stopped at was her parents' place. If she was leaving to start a new life in the city, it only made sense for her to stop and say goodbye. It also made sense for me to confirm she had passed through here so that I knew for sure I was on the right trail.

I knocked on the simple wooden door and was greeted by a broad man who towered a foot over my head. His look, the way he carried himself, I knew without a doubt that this man had one point been a warrior, and he had seen combat.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for someone, a teen, blue eyes, three pony tails," I said. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"What do you want with my daughter?"

"I never said that I was looking for a woman, but since we've established the fact that she's been here, you mind telling me where Korra went?" I asked.

"What do you want with her?"

"Well for starters I'd like to get her morning sparing session out of the way, and we'll go from there," I replied.

"You're Korra's new defense instructor."

"Not exactly the title I would use but yes, I am."

"You're a lot younger then I thought you would be," he said. I sighed.

"Yeah I get that a lot. So is she around?" I asked. The man sighed before he stepped back and motioned for me to come in. I walked into the small hut, and found Korra sitting in the living room. She looked startled by my appearance.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"You came to say goodbye to your parents before you left to head out into the world. It makes sense, that's what I did when I first left home. Although judging by the fact that you're still here, I'd say the boat you were going to take sailed without you on it." She looked down at the floor, trying to hide her embarrassment. Her whirlwind Avatar adventure was going to end before it even began. Or so she thought.

"Alright, get your stuff, let's get movin," I said. Korra looked up at me with anger burning in her eyes.

"I'm not going back to the compound."

"We're not." Now she looked confused.

"But..but..."

"Look, no Avatar ever got anything done by sitting on their asses in a snow fort. So get your stuff together, we're headed out of here."

"But, the last cargo ship left port hours ago." I gave her a look, making it clear that she was starting to annoy me.

"Who said anything about a cargo ship?"

* * *

"I can not believe I let you talk me into this," Korra said as she leaned on the railing. We were well out to sea on a fishing trawler, sailing north. The vessel, an older craft called the _Silverbird_ was making good time. Black smoke billowed from it's single smokestack as we plowed through relatively calm seas.

"Korra, you'll find that working in exchange for passage is often a good way to get around when you have no money," I said. I had bartered our way on board, offering to work until the boat put in to Republic City or some other port on the mainland. I had done this several times throughout my life, so work for food or passage came almost as second nature to me. Korra, however, didn't feel as I did.

"I'm the Avatar, I should be able to get a ride for free," she grumbled.

"That title doesn't mean anything to anyone right now. You haven't done anything to warrant their respect and until you do, you're just another face in the crowd," I reminded her. Humility is the mark of a great warrior, and person in general. I was gonna remind her of that at every turn. She sulked a little more, but couldn't complain too much. This was what she had wanted, after all, to be free of the compound.

"Alright, either one of you two ever worked a trawler before," the Captain asked as he came up behind us. I nodded, while Korra shook her head.

"Young man, get to a spot on the nets and get ready, we're coming up on our usual grounds. Little missy, not to sound like a traditionalist but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to head below to the galley," he said. Korra frowned at the man, and then at me.

"But I can help up here," she protested.

"Sorry lass, but you'd just be in the way, and that's dangerous out here with no one nearby to help," the Captain said.

"Look, just don't argue with him, alright? We all gotta pull our weight around here somehow, and frankly you've never handled a fishing net before."

"Oh and you have?"

"I have, actually." She looked at me dumbfounded.

"Seriously?"

"I wasn't always a warrior, Korra," I said, giving her a smile. It felt strange, nostalgic almost to be standing on the deck of a fishing boat again. I'd almost gone back to it in the years after Kyoshi died, but had focused on traveling the world instead. The world was too wide a place to be stuck in one spot for a long time. Korra gave me a look, but finally let out a sigh of defeat.

"Alright fine, I'll do it," she said.

"Aye, that's good lass, but you'd better snap too. You see them gulls? We're coming up on our spot now," the Captain said, pointing out over the bow. Several sea gulls were circling a point over the water, a sign that there was a lot of fish somewhere below the waves.

Then suddenly, without warning, the flock of gulls scattered. They flew in all directions in a panicked motion. Something had spooked them. This didn't escape the Captain's notice, or Korra's for that matter. I was frowning as I studied the water, a chill running down my spine.

"What the? I've never seen the birds do something like that," the Captain said. I continued to frown as I scanned the waves, hoping, praying that I was wrong. Unlike the Captain, I had seen this before.

"I'd advise we change course," I said.

"Excuse me?"

"Change course, now, before it's too late."

"We may be fisherman, but we're not so superstitious as to turn tail at a sudden change in..." A low moan like nose came from somewhere under the waves, silencing him instantly. I closed my eyes and groaned, hating the fact that I had guessed right.

"What was that?" Korra asked.

"Change course, you say?" The Captain asked, ignoring her. I shook my head.

"It's too late. It's got our sent now."

"What does?" Korra asked. Water around us began to churn as some kind of scaly fins broke the waves and then disappeared again. Something huge was snaking it's way around the boat, surrounding us, entrapping us. Then, it's head broke the water. A massive snake like head and neck rose up, towering high above the waves as it looked down upon us. It's gray scales had water cascading down them, and it's eyes burned red like the rising sun.

"What in the name of the spirits is that?" the Captain asked in a mixture of awe and horror. The beast looked down upon us and unleashed an earth shattering roar, showing off it's rows of white, spear like teeth. I drew my sword from over my shoulder and stood at the ready, knowing that what was to come wasn't going to be easy.

"It's a Leviathan."

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter. Honestly I was stunned by the amount of support this story has gotten. If you guys like this thing, please feel free to keep reviewing and sending me PMs. Let me know what you like or what you want to see, and with that, I'll see you all next time.**


	4. Shades of the Past

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Thank you all for your support, and hopefully you'll find this chapter interesting.**

Have you ever seen a Leviathan? No? I'm the only one? Well, let me give you a rundown on what one is like. They're huge, they're loud, and they smell like dead fish, wet leather, and burning ass. And by the Spirits are they annoyingly difficult to kill.

"JUST DIE YOU OVERGROWN SNAKE!" I yelled as I stabbed the Leviathan's flank over and over. I wasn't making a whole lot of progress either, given that the hide of one of these things is thick enough to stop most metals from penetrating it. So in reality, all I was really doing was just poking the thing with a stick.

The beast reared its head up before it unleashed a torrent of fire from it's maw. Korra was at the bow of the boat in a flash, throwing her hands upward. Instantly the wall of flames parted around the craft, showcasing her skills in firebending first hand.

"I SERIOUSLY DON'T THINK THAT'S HELPING!" she shouted over her shoulder back at me. I dislodged my sword from its hide and gave it a twirl.

"Fine then!" With that, I took off at a sprint and bounded off the railing right beside her with a yell. I plunged my sword into the creature's eye and held on for dear life. After a moment, I lost my grip and was thrown back to the deck. The Leviathan continued to thrash it's head about, roaring to the heavens above. But my little stunt had worked, and in all of it's twisting about the beast had uncoiled itself from around the boat, giving us an opening.

"Okay there it is, gun it, gun it, GUN IT!" I screamed. Smoke and fire belched from the smokestack as the _Silverbird_ lurched forward. Waves broke across the bow as the craft sailed past the twisting serpent. For a moment, it looked like the monster would crash down on top of us. Thankfully it didn't, and broke free of it's grip and made a run for it.

According to the captain, there was a fishing port not far from here. Hopefully we'd find safety there. Assuming we could put enough distance between ourselves and the Leviathan before it realized that it's prey had escaped that is.

"Well, that was fun," Korra said as she braced against the rail. As if to answer her, an ear shattering roar filled the air. The Leviathan was chasing us.

"Oh come on!" I yelled in frustration. This overgrown snake was starting to piss me off. Just as it started to breathe another stream of fire at us, a fireball impacted the side of it's head. The wind shifted as a massive red body passed overhead. I smiled at the sight. Help, it seemed, had arrived.

"A dragon!" Korra said in awe. Clearly she had never seen one before, and honestly I wasn't surprised. These days, dragons were so rare that most people disregarded them as myth. The dragon circled about, and I could see a rider perched upon its long neck. In the water, the Leviathan roared up at its flying cousin, which answered with a call of it's own.

The Leviathan unleashed a stream of fire into the sky, which the dragon rolled and dived in order to avoid. As it did so, it spat another ball of fire, striking the sea creature in the side of the neck and cutting off its fire breath. In an instant, the dragon was upon the Leviathan, claws and fangs tearing into it.

"By the Spirits," the Captain breathed in awe. The whole crew had emerged upon the deck to watch this titanic battle unfold.

"How far is that safe harbor?" I asked.

"Not far, five miles tops," the Captain replied.

"We need to get there now, while he has that thing distracted," I said, nodding my head toward the two struggling forces.

"Where is this place we're going, anyway?" Korra asked. In the sea, the dragon dislodged from the Leviathan. It blasted it with another ball of fire to the face before striking its head with it's whip like tail. The sea beast was thrown back, splashing down into the sea.

"Hm? Oh, sorry lass, I didn't hear ya. Kyoshi Island is where we're headed," the Captain answered. The young Avatar and I shared a glance.

"Looks like I'm goin' home," I said.

Kyoshi Island has changed very little in the days since the Hundred Year War, or even since the days of Kyoshi herself. It's economy always has been and probably always will be based around fishing. Really the only changes has been the introduction of electric lighting, indoor plumbing, and a radio station installed on one of the higher points of the island.

We put into the largest port on the island, a fairly decent sized town called Shiroyama. Kyoshi Island didn't have an official capital, but the governor's residence, the radio station, the shrine to Kyoshi, the headquarters of the Kyoshi Warriors, and the largest settlement was here. so that made Shiroyama the unofficial capital.

It also happened to be my hometown, and the current residence of my descendents. We were greeted by a small detachment of Kyoshi Warriors as we pulled into the dock. It was a fairly standard operation. The detachment would search the ship for any sort of contraband while the Captain registered the craft.

Both Korra and I gathered our belongings and headed into town. Although I hadn't told her yet, this was as far as the _Silverbird_ was taking us. From here, we could catch a ferry to the mainland, and then travel overland to Republic City. But for the moment, I just wanted to savor the feeling of being home again.

It's not as heartwarming as you might think, coming back here. There are so many memories, reminders of those who were now long gone. In truth, its more of a bittersweet thing. You feel nostalgic, yet at the same time, sorrow.

"So this is Kyoshi Island," Korra commented as we walked through the market. People bustled about their business while vendors shouted out their products, creating a sense of chaos.

"This is nothing, you should have seen some of the markets back in the day. They put this place to shame," I said. As we walked, I couldn't help but notice that Korra was starting to stare at the people as we past. Eventually I called this to attention.

"It's just that after everything I've heard about the Earth Kingdom, I wasn't expecting this. These people dress and act like the ones back home," she said.

"Technically the people of Kyoshi Island are descended from the Water Tribe," I said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. How do you not know this, it had to have been covered in some of your studies," I said.

"I kinda blew that part off and focused on bending," Korra confessed. I sighed in annoyance. Not at her, mind you, but at her so called teachers. What good were you if the student didn't learn anything? So on that note, I proceeded to give her a brief history lesson.

A few thousand years ago, a splinter group from the Southern Water Tribe sailed north and encountered a tribe of firebenders living on one of the outer islands in the Fire Nation. The two banded together and began to raid the other nations along the coast. The other nations called them the Dragon People, due to the dragon heads they carved onto their ships. This kept up until the Avatar at the time, a young man named Ban, challenged the leader of the Dragon People to single combat.

Ban, who was sometimes called the Unwanted Avatar because he was a member of the Dragon People himself, was able to defeat the leader and claim leadership over the people. He then settled them on the Katso Peninsula, and reshaped their culture until it resembled what Kyoshi Island was today.

Kyoshi never liked the fact that her own story had grown to overshadow that of her predecessor. She knew that if it wasn't for her, Ban would still be remembered as the first savor of these people. But she also knew that she couldn't change people's minds, so she erected a shine to Ban, doing her part to ensure that his story wouldn't be forgotten.

Now before you go jumping to conclusions, let me assure you that I'm not a descendent of Avatar Ban. As far as I can tell, the title of Unwanted had stuck, and Ban had died alone and childless. Well, that's what my research turned up anyway. And trust me, I spent a long time looking.

"Here," I said, handing Korra a small handfull of silver coins, "there's an inn just up the street from here, go and get us a room for the night."

"But what about you?" she asked.

"I've got some place I'd like to visit alone," I said before setting out on my own. My path took me out of town and up the side of the hill to a lonely graveyard. My focus on a sole, lonely temple, placed a little ways away from the other headstones. Despite the fact that it had been well taken care of, hundreds of years of being exposed to elements had taken its toll.

The inside of the temple smelled musty, even despite the candles and sticks of incense that were burning. I walked up to the sole lone coffin contained inside and placed my hand on the lid. The marble white had long ago lost it's shine, and the writing that had been carved had faded some, but it was still there. A single name.

Kyoshi.

Every time I come back, I always make sure to stop and visit the tomb of my old lover. In her final days, Kyoshi had made me promise that she would be buried in the simplest of terms. People had wanted to build her a tomb or a temple fit for a king, but she had shut them down, stating that she wished to be near her people.

In the end, this was a compromise between the two. Kyoshi got her wish of simple and humble, and the people had gotten their temple. A long time ago, I had wanted to be buried here next to her. But as time past, and I went on and on without dying, those wishes had started to fade. For me, it wasn't a question of when, but if I would die. As far as I knew, I might still be around long after the elements had suck this island into the sea.

"I thought I might find you here," came a voice from behind me. I turned to find a middle aged woman with auburn colored hair standing in the doorway. She was wearing the armor of a Kyoshi Warrior and had a katana on her hip. However she was lacking the standard makeup, and had a much larger golden headband on her forehead. I smiled at the sight of her.

"Just paying my respects is all," I replied.

"Yet you didn't bring flowers."

"Kyoshi was never the flowery type." She smiled at that.

"It is good to see you, grandfather," she said with a small bow of her head. I returned the bow.

"And you as well, Akira. How have things been?" I asked. Akira turned and motioned for us to leave. I gave the coffin I final pat as a farewell before we both left the temple.

"There have been stirrings in the governor's office, whispers about the possibility of a rebellion against the Earth Queen," she said as we walked down the path back toward the town. I frowned at the mention of this. During my travels hunting for the people who had tried to kidnap Korra, I had often herd rumblings about some of the states and providences rebelling against Hou-Ting's government and declaring their own rule.

"I've heard of similar things on the mainland. The people are unhappy," I said.

"As they should be. The Queen taxes us into poverty, and then threatens military action when we don't comply. Some people have proposed that if some of the larger states on the mainland break away, we should too," Akira said. My frown only deepened. This was not a good sign at all. If talks were like this here, in a place as remote as Kyoshi Island, I could only imagine what things must be like in larger places like Omashu.

"Would you really risk war with the Earth Queen?" I asked. Akria sighed.

"No. Not on our own, anyway. The Governor's council has voted to postpone the discussion until something happens on the mainland. They're wanting to wait and see if one of the bigger cites like Omashu or Zaofu will make a move."

"Is that why you have a Fire Nation official here?" I asked. Akria looked at me with puzzlement for a moment before it dawned on her what I was talking about.

"Oh you mean Lee Sung. He's apart of the trade agreement. One detachment of Kyoshi Warriors for the Fire Lady, and in return we get a single Dragon Rider."

"I wasn't aware that the Riders had become more associated with the government in the Fire Nation," I said. Let me give you a little bit of context. The Dragon Riders were an ancient order of master firebenders, like the Order of the White Lotus. You may have heard of the title of Dragon being granted to a firebender whom had conquered a dragon. Originally, this meant that the firebender had defeated the dragon in combat, and the two had formed a bond as a result.

The Riders were formed as a collection of these Masters. They were a secretive order that preserved the ancient, original forms of firebending, aided the Avatar in maintaining balance where possible, and didn't bow to any government. This changed during the reign of Fire Lord Sozin. Knowing that he couldn't wage a war against the rest of the world with a group of rouge masters standing against him, Sozin turned against the Riders and nearly wiped them out at the start of the war.

In the years after the war, the Riders have made a small come back. However their numbers, along with the dragons themselves have remained small. If I had to guess, their sudden shift to working with government was the fact that Zuko was a member. That was the only logical outcome I could think of.

As we passed back into town, I stopped by the inn where I had sent Korra in order to drop my things off. I found out which room she had gotten and went to it from the desk. The Avatar herself was in a room with two beds, lying on one of said beds staring at the ceiling.

"Come on," I said as I barged into the room and threw my pack down on the other bed. She sat up in surprise, a stunned look on her face.

"Where are we going?"

"We got people to meet," I said over my shoulder as I began to walk back out. Korra hopped to her feet and quickly followed. She was given another surprise when she saw Akira waiting on us.

"Korra this is Akira, the commander of the Kyoshi Warriors. Akria this is Korra, my...traveling companion," I said, introducing the two. I also took great care in avoiding the use of Korra's title. The less she learned to rely on it, the better off she'd be. Akria eyed Korra up and down, her hand resting passively on her sword.

"Isn't she a little young for you?" Korra's face turned beat red at that. I simply gave my granddaughter a look of annoyance.

"Not in that sense."

"He's training me in self defense," Korra defended.

"Is that what they're calling it now? Self defense training?" Okay, now this was starting to get out of hand.

"Don't we have a Rider to meet?" I asked, trying to get us back on topic. Akira looked from me and then back to Korra. She gave her a reassuring smile, showing that it was just a little harmless teasing. For this, I was actually grateful. Akira's mother had absolutely no sense of humor. I don't mean that she didn't find anything funny, I mean she couldn't tell a decent joke to save her life.

With that, she led us to the Headquarters of the Warriors, which was a long, low, single story building. It was defiantly one of the newer buildings, as it was built from brick and not wood. Perched on the roof of the building like a cat being lazy in the sun was the red dragon we had seen on board the _Silverbird_. It regarded us with large golden eyes, almost exactly like an uninterested cat would.

Standing before the doors was a middle aged man wearing a simple set of leather armor. He had salt and pepper colored hair, fair skin, and amber colored eyes. His posture indicated that he was a man of training and discipline, upright and wary with his arms folded across his chest. A lot of master firebenders and swordsmen carried themselves this way. Well, the older ones did anyway. Now days, to be considered a master all you had to do was survive longer then three matches in Pro Bending.

"Lee, I'd like you to meet two guests of ours. This is Ryou, and his companion, Korra," Akria introduced them. The man smiled and held out his hand to shake.

"Master Ryou needs no introductions. He is still well regarded within the ranks of our Order."

"Wait, you already know of him?" Korra asked.

"Of course. Ryou was once considered a Master in our ranks. He is one of the few relics left from the time before Sozin's Great Purge." The young Avatar turned her gaze to me, expecting an explanation.

"Let's not bring up that old story again," I said, trying to shift the focus away from me.

"Master Ryou was a high ranking member of the Order during the final days of the Old Order. He was also the only member to ever have conquered a black dragon. And, as if that wasn't enough, he was the only one that the surviving records indicate was not a firebender," Lee said.

"Is that so?" Akira asked, cocking her eyebrow at me. Her tone of voice sounded like a parent finding out something that their child had done.

"Wait, you had a dragon? An actual dragon?" Korra asked. I sighed as I took a few steps away from them. More ghosts dragged to the surface.

"Suiren. Her name was Suiren," I finally answered.

 _ **Island of Agni, Northern Fire Nation, One Hundred and Seventy Years earlier...**_

 _"_ _I'm telling you we must act now! The Fire Lord has already disrupted balance in the world and exterminated the Air Nomads, how much longer will you sit here and let his atrocities go unanswered!" Ryou screamed at the small council that was sitting before him. He was wearing a simple piece of leather armor with a katana strapped to his side._ _Before him were six people, three men and three women seated in a half circle, all of them wearing formal robes._

 _"_ _Master Ryou, you would do well to remember your place. You have no dragon, and therefore are an honorary member of this Order only," one of the men said._

 _"_ _Ryou has outlived all of us, including you Master Zhang. Even if his dragon is dead, he is still a member of this Order. It is YOU, who would do well to remember your place," one of the women chastised before turning her gaze to Ryou._

 _"_ _These are very serious charges you are leveling against the Fire Lord. According to the reports released by the Fire Nation, his armies were provoked into conflict against the armies of the Air Nation."_

 _"_ _Masters, you all know that the Air Nomads have never had a standing army, or even something that came close to an organized militia. Sozin attacked a group of peaceful pacifists, and exterminated them without mercy. He will come for us next if we do not act now," Ryou said. The group looked at each other with concern._

 _"_ _How can you be sure of this?"_

 _"_ _The Fire Lord has made it abundantly clear. Anyone whom does not side with him is a traitor, to be killed on the spot." At that moment, a sentry burst into the room. He gave a quick hurried bow before the council, panting as he tried to catch his breath._

 _"_ _Sorry to interrupt Masters. But a fleet of ships has been spotted off the coast."_

 _"_ _How many ships?" one of the women asked._

 _"_ _Too many, too many to count," the sentry wheezed. At the center of the group, the Grandmaster stood from his chair and rose to his full height. From underneath his robe, he drew a sword hilt._

 _"_ _If Sozin wishes to challenge us, then we shall answer his challenge," he said as a blade extended from the hilt._

 _"_ _Master, if what he says is true, we could be facing an armada!" one of the others exclaimed._

 _"_ _If this shall end in fire, then we shall all burn together," the Grandmaster said before focusing his attention on Ryou, "What say you, ageless one?" Ryou looked at each of the Masters before drawing his own sword._

 _"_ _One final stand. Together," he said._

 _ **Present.**_

"What happened to them?" Korra asked.

"They all died," I answered, "The Order was purged, and the island burned until it was but a scorched, ash filled waste. What few survivors there were fled and went into hiding, or joined Sozin."

"Ryou has been instrumental in helping us rebuild. For that, we are forever grateful to him," Lee said.

"Wait, you never said what happened to Suiren," Korra pointed out.

"She had died of old age along before the events of that day. I was there to try and convince them to take action against Sozin, to stop his genocidal rampage. But I was too late, and I was just in time to watch them fall," I said.

"But how did..."

"Korra, if it's all the same to you, that's enough questions for now," I said, a little harsher then intended. Rather then wait for any of them to speak, I started walking, headed back toward the inn. I couldn't let them see how much the questions and recounting what had happened effected me.

Even after all these years, I still got a knot in my chest when I thought about Suiren. The black dragon had been my only companion for many years, and it had greatly pained me when she died. Yet another effect of this curse of mine, I was forever forsaken to wander alone, or else the pain of loss would be shoved upon me again.

I entered our room and flopped down on my bed. Speaking of companions, my current one was doing well to prove herself. She hadn't panicked when the Leviathan had attacked, and kept a cool head on her shoulders. Not to mention she wasn't half bad to look at either.

Hey, I might be old, even for old people, but I'm still human. And I have the body of a physically fit twenty year old so there's that bonus. That's not to say I don't have my morals. My relationship with Korra was strictly one of teacher and student. Perhaps, with time, it would grow into friendship, but that's where it was right now.

That's also not to say that I've had slip ups in the past where students became lovers. I am, like I said, still human. But the fact remained that I intended to keep my relationship with her a professional one. Now if things were to be reversed and she made the first move on me? Well, then maybe my morals would slip. But that's a huge if. As far as I was aware, Korra still viewed me as something of a pain in the ass wrapped in an enigma.

Speaking of Korra, the door opened and she herself walked into the room. The look on her face said that she was being cautious, trying to avoid upsetting me again.

"Akira is your granddaughter times seven right?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"Something like that," I replied.

"That's weird, she looks like she could be your mother," she commented as she sat on her own bed.

"There's not much resemblance. Koko looked like a carbon copy of Kyoshi, it's not surprising that she passed that down to the others," I said. I glanced at Korra out of the corner of my eye. She was chewing on her bottom lip and glancing about nerviously. It wasn't that hard to see that she wanted to ask me a question she thought might be personal.

"You might as well ask whatever is bothering you," I said. A few moments of silence fell as she gathered her words in her head.

"It's just that this Order that Lee is apart of is for master firebenders. And you're a non bender. How did you get in?" she asked. I stared up at the ceiling as I thought back to how it had all happened.

"I bested a dragon in combat, and for that feat I was granted membership," I finally answered.

"You fought a dragon? With no bending. Did you have a death wish?"

"Yes." Korra sat back, visably startled.

"Wait, what?"

"I was genuinely trying to die. So I fought a dragon," I said.

"But...why...why would you..."

"Korra. My wife had just died and I had no purpose in the world. I figured death by dragon would be an honorable way to die. But instead I bested the dragon, and became inducted into a group of master firebenders as a result."

"I can't imagine something like that," Korra said.

"The soldiers in the Earth Kingdom Army during the war had a term for it; 'going wolf'," I said.

"I don't understand."

"There were a lot of times when you'd have someone who had lost absolutely everything. Came home from the market one day to find their house and family as little more then a smoldering foundation in the ground. More often then not, they'd hurl themselves into the fight, trying to kill as many soldiers as possible for revenge, or just simply wanting to die. But because they no longer clung to life, death would avoid them, as if to prolong their torment by forcing them to live. They'd stop caring about anything, and shut down all emotion until they were finally killed or managed to snap themselves out of it," I explained.

"You've done that before, and not just with the dragon either," she noted. I had to give the girl credit where it was due, she had excellent deduction skills.

"Yes, I've had this happen to me a time or two," I said.

"When was..."

"Korra, I'd like to stop talking about the past now," I interrupted.

"Oh, um okay. So what are we gonna do now?" she asked.

"Now we'll take the ferry to the mainland and then travel up the coast to Republic City," I answered.

"You don't want to stay a little longer?"

"Not any longer then we have to. Besides, we still got to get you to Tenzin," I said. I could tell by the way she was sitting that she was conflicted. Part of her wasn't very excited about the prospect of leaving so soon. She wanted to see the sights, get to know the feel of a new place so unlike her home.

"You..you're right. Getting to Republic City needs to be our focus," she finally said. I flashed her a quick smile.

"You did well on the boat," I said, "you kept your head on your shoulders and did what needed to be done." She blushed a little at the complement when she was sure I wasn't looking.

"Thanks."

"Right. Now, I'm gonna get some shut eye. We got a long stretch tomorrow."

* * *

"It's a shame you couldn't stay longer, grandfather," Akira said. We were standing on the dock of the ferry, waiting to board the craft.

"I would have loved to stay longer, we have important matters to attend to in Republic City," I replied, giving her a short respectful bow which she returned.

"Lord Zuko instructed me to give you this, Master," Lee said as he handed me what appeared to be a sword hilt. It was a simple wooden and metal staff about two feet in length, with two metal arms coming off of it on one end. Pressing a button on the side, a blade telescoped out from the end with the metal arms.

"The blade of a Rider," I said with a hint of being impressed as I tested the feel of the sword.

"He said that he had a feeling you might need it," Lee said. I smirked at that. Zuko in his later years always seemed to know something beforehand.

"This will make a fine replacement for the one I lost. Give my thanks and regards to Lord Zuko," I instructed. Lee bowed and I returned it. With that, I collapsed the blade and attached the hilt to my belt. This would be a lot easier to conceal in the city then my old blade. With that, Korra and I boarded the ferry, and soon we at sea again.

"On the road again," Korra noted. I smiled as I looked out toward the horizon.

"It's a wide world out there, Avatar Korra," I said, "we have much to see."

 **And that's a wrap. More of Ryou's past has been reveled as they get closer to Republic City. What do you guys think about it all? What about the possibility of a relationship between Ryou and Korra? I'd love to hear from you guys, so with that I ask that you leave a review, drop a PM, state what you like or didn't like, or even what you'd like to see. And with that, I'll see you all in the next one.**


	5. City of the Republic

**Hey guys, I'm back with an actual chapter. Now as you may have noticed, Ageless is now rated M. The response I got was overwhelming, and every single one of them supported the bumping up in rating. So with that out of the way, let's get on with the chapter.**

"Walking is evil," Korra moaned as she let her head fall back so that she was looking up at the sky. I rolled my eyes at her antics, and focused on the path ahead of us. We were walking beside a set of railroad tracks through a stretch of woods. All around us, leaves colored yellow, orange, and red fell with a light gust of wind.

"You complain too much," I said over my shoulder toward her. After getting off the ferry at the city of Chin, we'd hitchhiked ride after ride up the coast until we'd crossed the border into the United Republic. From there, we'd hitched a ride on a freight train to a rail hub about ten miles south of Republic City. However the trains only seemed to be coming south from the city, so we were walking the rest of the way.

"I wish Naga was here," Korra grumbled. Ah yes, the solid ton fur and teeth death machine she called a pet. I wish it was here too, that way I wouldn't have to listen to anymore grumbling on her part. See, I've been quite literally walking this Earth for almost five hundred years, a vast majority of it done before the Satomobile had been invented. A stretch of ten miles was a quite walk in the park to me. To Korra it might as well have been a death march.

"You know, I once marched from Omashu to Gaoling in the dead of winter with only a day's rations," I said.

"Is that suppose to make me see how weak I'm being?" she asked.

"No. It's suppose to make you either shut up or you'll know what it's like to fight on only a day's rations," I warned. I may have been strict in my training, but I hadn't gone full on drill sergeant with her yet. I could very easily do so if I wanted, I was actually a drill sergeant at one point. But I wasn't just trying to teach her how to fight, I was trying to teach her how to live as well.

Katara had stated that Korra hadn't really connected with the spiritual side of being the Avatar. From what I had observed, Korra wasn't really the type that took sitting in one place very well. She always had to be on the move in some way, shape, or form. Perhaps walking could be an alternative to meditating for her. For me, at least, walking served as a decent replacement to meditation when there wasn't time for the latter. I'm not going to lie, even after five centuries I've had only one thought when it came to walking for long distances.

Boring.

As.

Shit.

And I mean that with all my heart. Walking is so boring that with enough practice you can obtain an almost meditative state while doing it. Just remember to retain enough cognitive focus so that you don't walk off a cliff or into a tree or something and you're golden. Also try not to day dream, that can also lead to situations like the ones I just mentioned.

"I want you to try something," I say after several minutes of silence, "Look around us, take in as many details as you can."

"Is this a lesson on how 'it's not the destination it's the journey'?" she asked as I came to a halt.

"No. It's a lesson in situational awareness. Look around you, what do you see?"

"Um, trees? The tracks?"

"Okay, now look with the eyes of a warrior," I instructed.

"Still trees, and the tracks..."

"And the Copperraddler at your feet," I said. The Avatar looked down and nearly jumped out of her boots at the sight of the snake. She took several hurried steps backwards as the thing hissed and barred it's fangs at her. I casually kicked the thing away into the underbrush with the toe of my boot before I motioned for her to follow me.

"You're seeing things for how they are, and not for how they can be used. Take this tree for example. You see a tree, I see a possible vantage or hiding point should I find myself under attack," I said.

"Okay," she said. It was clear I had her attention.

"The more you know about your surroundings, the more of an advantage you'll have in any situation you find yourself in," I continued, "it can also be quite handy being as the Avatar needs to be in tune with nature."

"You're saying that paying attention to my surroundings can help my spiritual block?" she asked. I could hear the doubt in her voice plain as day.

"It's a running theory at the moment. You get board just sitting in one spot for long periods of time right?"

"Yeah."

"So wouldn't it stand to reason to give it a try while you're not sitting in one spot?" I asked. She had a frown on her face as she pondered what I was saying.

"I've never given it any thought," she said.

"Opening our minds to new possibilities is the first step to opening our souls to change," I said as we came to the top of the ridge, "and it's at those moments when we can see everything."

"Wow," Korra gasped at the view before us. Sprawled out in the valley below was Republic City. A shining metropolis the stretched from the base of the mountains to our right to the edge of the bay on our left. In the harbor, a statue of Aang rose up, like a giant metal watcher of the city. A few airships hovered over various points in the city, some of them being used as transportation for people or cargo, while the rest belonged to the police.

"I've never seen so many Satomobiles," she said as we walked into the city.

"Really? You've spent your entire life surrounded by nothing but buildings made of wood and snow, and the first thing you say when you get to a city made of shining steel is 'Oh wow, look at all the glorified carriages'?" I asked. That is all the satomobile really is. Just a glorified, self propelled carriage. I never really got into the hype everyone seemed to have over them. Then again, machines had never really been my thing to begin with.

"There's just so much to take in," Korra said as she looked at the buildings around us.

"You should have seen this place when it first got started. It was just an outpost back then, a bunch of log huts huddled along the edge of the bay," I said.

"Okay now you do sound like an old man. 'Back in my day, we didn't have all these new fangled contraptions'," she teased, bending over like her back hurt while shaking her fist. I playfully swatted her on the arm, but kept walking. We passed a trolly rolling past on its route and came to a small overlook on the edge of the bay.

From here you could see the statue of Aang much more clearly, and beyond that the towering white spire of Air Temple Island. I let out a sigh as I gazed at the distant island. I had been there when Aang had first created it, and had many memories on it from past visits, both good and bad. My old friend had tried to salvage what he could of his old culture and storing it on that island. I'd helped, raiding the old Air Temples for any surviving scrolls and documents that could be found.

"That's Air Temple Island, right?" Korra asked, pointing toward it.

"Yes."

"We're almost there, let's go!" she said, her voice full of excitement as she started toward the docks. She quickly came to a halt when she noticed that I wasn't following.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!"

"I'm not feeling it just yet," I replied. Korra gaped at me, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. I already knew what was going through her mind. We were this close to the end of our journey, and I suddenly didn't feel like ending it? I'd probably doing the same thing if I was in her shoes.

But I did actually have my reasons. The first being a little fact that Korra seemed to have totally forgotten during our past week or so of traveling; the White Lotus still wanted her returned to the Compound down south. As soon as we set foot on that island, they'd be trying to ship her right back.

My second reason was a little more selfish. In our time on the road, I'd grown use to having Korra as company. It'd been so long since I'd had a traveling companion that it I had almost forgotten what it was like. And truth be told, I liked it. I liked the idea of it just being the two of us, just her and I against the world. Korra was more then my student, she was growing to be my friend.

I also knew I was just being an old fool. In all reality, Korra was probably going to be added to an ever growing list of friends I'd have to watch being withered away by time until there was noting left. But that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy her company now. In fact, it was almost an incentive to do so.

"Come on," I said, turning away from the railing that kept people from falling into the water.

"Where are we going?"

"To see the sights. It's your first day in the city, after all."

* * *

Korra absolutely loved the city and everything it had to offer. Me? My opinion of Republic City could be summed up with a drawn out eh. The whole damn place smells, and its not even a sent I can accurately describe. It's crowded, it's loud, and frankly a lot of the people there are just plain rude. Not exactly the peaceful society Aang and Zuko had in mind when they first lay down the groundwork for this place.

Still, there is something to be said about a metropolis that has millions of people living in it. It wasn't even a hundred years old yet, and already it was competition with Ba Sing Se for the largest city in the world. The Ba Sing Se of the West, Zuko had jokingly called it during the first year of it's founding. I don't think he realized just how accurate that description would become.

"This place is amazing," Korra said as we walked. I gave a halfhearted shrug. Then again, this wasn't the first time I'd been here, so it wasn't like I was overly surprised by anything. As we past a street vender's cart, Korra came to a halt, her nose smelling the air like a dog. She turned toward the vendor, still sniffing. I rolled my eyes at this.

"One meat stick, please," she said, looking at the woman sitting behind the stand.

"One yuan," the woman replied. Korra dug into her pockets, but came up with nothing. The woman folded her arms and looked down at her with disapproval. I tossed the woman a coin before grabbing a sick and handing it to Korra.

"Don't choke," the woman said before she bit down on the coin and then added it to her purse. I motioned for Korra to follow me, and she did while gnawing on her stick.

"This is tasty, want some?" she asked, offering me a portion. I shook my head, not trusting anything that came from a street vendor. It's not that all vendors are bad, some of them are run by an honest person who actually makes good food and tries to earn an honest living. But I've also seen the state of some that were worse off then spoiled rations I got in the war. When someone who's eaten moldy bread and drank dirty water won't even touch your food, it's time to rethink your life.

Korra didn't seem to mind though, and she went right on chewing away. Reluctantly, I steered us back toward the harbor. We were gonna have to face the music sooner or later. Maybe I could convince them to let Korra stay in Republic City. Or I could just force my way. But that usually ended with someone getting a few broken bones, so hopefully it wouldn't come to that. We'd started down an alleyway, a quick shortcut we were taking in order to avoid walking all the way around the block, when a man stepped out from behind a dumpster.

"Give me all your cash!" he ordered, waving a switchblade around. Based on the tattered clothes he was wearing, I figured the guy probably lived in the dumpster.

"Um, no," I replied, trying to walk on and ignore him. At the risk of sounding like an old man, I'm too old for this. The mugger hopped in front of me and waved the switchblade wildly in my face.

"I'm warning you, kid, I'll gut you like a fish with this knife!" he said. I don't know what irritated me more, the fact that he'd called me kid or the fact that he thought his little letter opener was something I found intimidating.

"You call that a knife? That's not a knife," I said before drawing my sword hilt. In a flash, the blade had sprung forward and I was pressing the point against his throat.

"Wait, wait!"

"THAT'S a knife," I said. The mugger dropped his knife, but otherwise remained absolutely still for fear of accidentally cutting himself on the razor sharp blade. I shifted my stance so that my arm was raised, ready to thrust forward and stab him through the throat.

"You know it only take four pounds of pressure on these arteries for me to puncture them and have you bleed out. That's less force then it takes to pull the trigger on a crossbow," I said.

"Please..." I removed the blade from his throat before taking a step back. Now the sword wasn't actually touching him, but I was still pointing it at him.

"Go on, get out of here. Before I change my mind," I ordered. The mugger ran without complaint, happily putting as much distance between himself and us as fast as he could. With that, I let the blade telescope back into the hilt before returning it to my belt. Korra had watched the whole exchange with her mouth hanging open.

"Would you really have killed that guy?" she asked.

"No. Well not the first time around anyway. If he's learned his lesson here, he'll give up what he's doing. But if I catch him again..." I trailed off, patting my hilt as if to prove my point. Since the days when I first joined the Guard back home, I've always lived by a fairly simple code. Everyone is deserving of a second chance, but there are no thirds, period.

We continued on walking, stepping out onto a street and heading in the direction of the harbor. As we passed an apple stand, I stopped to admire a stand of apples. Okay, technically I was wasting time, but that's neither here nor there.

"You're lost, aren't you?" Korra asked. I gave her a look, a little insulted that she would draw that conclusion just because I was looking at a fruit stand.

"No, I know exactly where we are," I replied. She just rolled her eyes.

"Men." With that, she turned to an older woman and a young man who were sitting next to the stand. They were so engrossed in their game of Pai Sho, I doubt they even realized we were standing there.

"Excuse me, we're a little lost, can you tell us how to get to Air Temple Island from here?" she asked.

"Just head down this street," the woman said kindly, pointing in the direction we'd been heading. Korra looked back at me, and I cocked my eyebrow at her. Why she felt the need to doubt me, I have no idea. I mean I was one of the original founders of this city, it'd stand to reason that I would at least somewhat know how to get around. And even if I didn't it was just a matter of walking west until you reached the water, it's not like it was advanced chemistry or something.

The roar of a souped up car engine echoed off the buildings as a red and gold satomobile came around the corner. All around us, people vanished into their shops and closed the doors. Those who had been walking down the street immediately veered toward the nearest door. Even the Pai Sho players were on the move.

"You should get moving, you two, it's not safe," the woman hissed as she and her game partner ducked behind their stand. I felt a chill settle into my blood. I'd seen this kind of behavior before. During the War, it was commonplace on both sides that the local garrisons would take whatever they wanted from the population.

If you fought back, getting the crap beat out of you was the best thing that could have happened. In the regions occupied by the Fire Nation, the soldiers might put you and everything you owned to the torch, while in the free regions, it wasn't uncommon to see whole families suddenly drafted into the King's army and sent to the front lines. Seeing people behave like this now told me all I needed to know about the people in the red and gold car.

The car came to a halt and three men climbed out. The first was a guy with a tanned complexion, wearing a blue jacket and a fedora. Following him was a scrawny pale man with a scar over his left eye wearing a black shirt and a red scarf, and a large hunchbacked man wearing a green shirt. All three of them approached a man who looked like he was desperately trying to mind his own business in front of a phonograph shop.

Triads. They'd been a major thorn in the city's side since the days of it's founding. However they weren't big time enough to have much of a reach beyond the United Republic border, so I hadn't had many dealings with them within the past decade or so.

"Mr. Chun, I really hope you have my money, otherwise I can't guarantee the safety of your fine establishment," the man with the hat said while the pale man let a flame spring up in his hand.

"Business was slow this week. Here take one of my phonographs," the shopkeeper said, offering one of the music devices as compensation. It clearly wasn't enough, as the firebender smashed it to a million pieces and allowed them to burn.

"See my friend here isn't a music lover. Now you better come up with my money or else..."

"Or else what? Hoodlum?" Korra asked. I face palmed. Not so much at the fact that the Avatar had intervened, but more at her choice of wording. Hoodlum? Seriously? I'm almost five hundred and not even I use that word. I would have told her to get with the times, but I'm not sure I can ever remember a time when that word was used very often.

The three Triad members took one look at Korra and burst out laughing. If I had been in their shoes, I probably would have joined them. Korra is strong, there's no doubting that even if you take a passing glance at her. But she's still just a young woman, and she only peaks at about five foot seven so she's not exactly up there on the physical size scale.

"Since you're fresh off the boat, let me explain something to ya. You're in Triple Threat Triad territory, and we're about to put you in the hospital," the leader of the trio said.

"Yeah, as if the Triads already didn't have enough problems with their image in the public eye," I said, stepping in. Had I wanted to get involved in this? No. But Korra had screwed up that plan by speaking up and drawing attention to herself. Oh well, the trains rolling so you might as well blow the whistle as the saying goes.

"Look pal, this is between us and the little lady. It doesn't concern you," the waterbender said, pointing a finger at me. I gave him a predatory smile. Boy oh boy did this guy have a surprise waiting for him.

"You get fancy hat," I said over my shoulder, "I get hunchback and scarf boy." Korra grinned as she stepped forward.

"Just let me know if you need any help, old man," she said as she cracked her knuckles. The waterbender's eyebrow twitched. Then he moved, and moved fast, throwing his jacket aside and bending a stream of water at her. Korra caught the stream and sent it right back at him, enveloping his head in block of ice.

The man stumbled forward, his head suddenly much heavier then it was before. Korra kicked the man to the side, causing him to fall into their car. The block of ice shattered from the impact, freeing his head but knocking him out cold and leaving him slumped against the car's bumper. I walked toward the hunchback, knowing that once the shock of their boss being knocked out wore off they'd be all over Korra.

"Hey big guy, don't suppose you wanna just surrender?" I asked as I drew my sword hilt. He looked down at me, at first like he was trying to comprehend what I had just said. Then his eyes filled with rage. With a roar, he brought his foot up and stomped into the street. A pillar of stone erupted beneath my feet, launching me skyward.

Rather then lose my cool, I turned my body so that I landed on the earthbender's shoulders. It took a moment for the big lug to process what had just happened, not that I gave him enough time to do so in the first place. The instant I was in place I was pounding him over the head with my hilt as hard as I could. After the third blow it finally worked, as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the street.

I landed on my feet, facing the remaining bender with the hilt at the ready, but without the blade being extended. Anger flooded the firebender as he realized what I had just done to his buddy, and he unleashed a stream of fire at me. I ducked under the flames, coming up underneath him and grabbing one of his outstretched arms. With a downward yank, I was rewarded with the sicking sound of bone snapping, followed closely by the man screaming in pain. I quickly twisted his arm so that he was facing away from me before delivering a kick to the back of his leg, forcing him to his knees. His cry of pain was silenced as I clubbed him over the head with my sword hilt. Unlike his earthbender friend, it only took one blow to knock him out.

"Wow, you are...brutal," Korra said as she looked over my handiwork.

"I'm rusty is what I am. Do you know how long it's been since I've been in a legit street brawl?" I asked as I walked back to her.

"I didn't think a refined master like you got into street fights."

"I don't. Last time I had an altercation was a bar fight. And I got thrown thru a window then," I said. Overhead, the sound of an air raid siren filled the air. A police airship was hovering over the street. A squad of metalbenders jumped from the craft, using their cables to slow their decent and lower themselves to the street. I rolled my eyes. Late for arrival, flashy entrance, some things never change.

"We caught the bad guys for you, officers," Korra said, stepping aside and motioning toward the downed Triads.

"Arrest them," the leader of the squad said, pointing toward the triad members. It was less then thirty seconds before he turned on us.

"You two are under arrest too," he said, pointing at us. Korra's look of surprise was timeless.

"What? But, why, they're the bad guys! They were smashing up a shop!" Korra protested.

"From the looks of things you smashed them up a lot more," the cop replied before shooting a set of cables at her. But Korra sidestepped and grabbed onto the cables.

"Wait, you can't do this, let me explain!"

"You can explain yourself all you like, down at headquarters," the cop replied before he bent a new set of cables from his other arm. Korra ducked under this new threat while dropping the cables she was already holding. She jumped backwards as the cop tried to ensnare her, but only managed to hit the street where she had been standing an instant earlier.

"Ryou, a little help!" she shouted, somersaulting backwards as the officer took another swipe at her.

"You started it, you finish it, hot stuff," I replied. Korra bent a brick from the street and hurled it at the officer. He was so busy trying to snag her that he took the brick straight to the face, knocking him out cold. The young Avatar wasted no time in sprinting away, disappearing around a corner. Several police officers came forward and gave chase. A few of them broke off in order to properly arrest me.

"So what do you think, boys? I got twenty yuan that says she makes it five blocks," I said as they bound me in cables.

* * *

"You bet that I wouldn't get away? What kind of friend are you?!" Korra snapped.

"The kind who's not an idiot," I replied. We were sitting in a metal interrogation room, our wrists in metal cuffs that were attached to the table in front of us. Had we been metalbenders, I think we would have been placed into a platinum cell, but given that there were no locks on these cuffs, I'd say it was just standard steel being used here.

"If you had helped, we wouldn't be in this situation," Korra grunted as she leaned back and planted her boots on the edge of the table. She was trying to slip her wrists out of the cuffs, by brute force no less. I didn't know whether to admire her tenacity, or face palm at her stupidity.

"I got enough problems with the lady who runs this place. Adding resisting arrest to the list isn't something I'm willing to do at the moment," I replied.

"What did you do to her? Sleep with her and not call the next day?" Korra said, her teeth clenched as she strained against her restraints.

"Okay, stop that, you'll dislocate your wrists at this rate," I said, ignoring her statement. In truth, I wasn't all that eager to see Lin. And no, it wasn't because of a relationship, sexual or otherwise as Korra implied. There was a time when she and I got along really well. Certain...developments, fact revelations had soured our friendship. But that was years ago, and it didn't have much to do with our situation now.

Speaking of Lin, the door of the room opened to reveal the Iron Maiden herself. Korra quickly sat her chair back down normally and acted like she hadn't been doing anything. Lin Beifong was a middle aged woman with light skin, pale green eyes, and gray shoulder length hair. A pair of scars dominated her right cheek, the result of an altercation with her sister when she was younger. She was looking at some papers on a clipboard as she came in.

When the Chief of Police looked up at us, there was a steely anger and disapproval as she looked at Korra. But when she regarded me, there was nothing but a cold seething rage. There wasn't a single doubt in my mind, Lin knew exactly who both of us were, and she had every intention of burying us deep for transgressing in her city.

"Let's see; multiple accounts of battery, not to mention resisting arrest," she said before slamming the clipboard down on the table, "You two are in a whole mess of trouble."

"But there were some thugs threatening to beat up a shopkeeper and.." Korra started.

"Can it! You should have called the police and stayed out of the way," Lin interrupted.

"But I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. It's my duty to help people. See, I'm the Avatar," Korra said, trying a new angle and hoping to worm her way out of the spot she was in. I rolled my eyes. All that time spent trying to teach her humility and not use her title to get what she wanted, it was like I hadn't even opened my mouth. Lin evidently felt the same way I did, as she crossed her arms and looked unimpressed.

"Oh I'm well aware of who you are. And your Avatar title might impress some people, but not me," she said. Korra hardened up at that, realizing that her approach had failed.

"Alright, fine. Then I want to talk to whoever's in charge," she said.

"You're talking to her, I'm Chief Beifong," Lin said as she sat in the chair across from us. Korra looked stunned at this revelation.

"Wait, Beifong? Lin Beifong? You're Toph's daughter!"

"What of it?"

"Then why are you treating me like a criminal? Your mother and Avatar Aang were friends, they saved the world together," Korra said.

"Because you kinda are a criminal at this point," I muttered.

"You, zip it!" Lin snapped, pointing a finger at me before she turned on Korra, "that's ancient history, and it's got squat to do with the trouble you're in right now. You can't just walk in and dole out vigilante justice like you own the place." At that moment, a section of metal on the wall retracted, revealing the face of a police officer.

"Chief, Councilman Tenzin is here." Lin sighed and stood from her chair.

"Let him in." The door slid open to reveal the airbending master. He didn't look happy. In fact, he looked tired and strained.

"Tenzin, we got a little side tracked coming to see you," Korra said apolitically. Tenzin regarded her before turning to face Lin.

"Lin, you are looking radient as ever."

"Cut the garbage, Tenzin!" Lin snapped, "what are these two doing in Republic City? I thought you were moving down south to train her."

"My relocation has been delayed. As for the Avatar and her defense master, they will be on the first ship back to the South Pole, where they will stay put," Tenzin replied, directing the last part at us.

"But..."

"If you would be so kind as to drop the charges against these two, I will take full responsibility for the regrettable events of today's actions and cover all the damages," Tenzin continued as if Korra hadn't spoken at all. Lin looked back and forth between the Councilman and us for a moment before she finally sighed and flicked her wrist. Only Korra's cuffs were released, and the young woman quickly began to rub her wrists.

"Fine. But I'm holding Ryou a little longer," she said.

"Now Lin, you know that holding a prisoner any longer then..."

"Those are my terms, Tenzin, take em or leave em," Lin said. Tenzin gave me a forlorn look and then sighed, he'd tried to get me out of the cage with the sabertooth moose lion, but failed, and he knew it.

"Alright fine. We'll be waiting. Let's go, Korra," Tenzin said before he walked out of the interrogation room. Korra followed, looking back at me with a concerned look. Then the metal door slid closed, and it was just Lin and I alone in the room. For the longest time it was quiet. Uncomfortably so.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my city," she finally said, her voice low.

"If you want to split hairs, technically it's MY city, considering I was one of the founders," I replied.

"You know damn well what I mean," she said.

"And you also know that the laws of men mean little to me," I replied.

"Oh, you made that abundantly clear with today's events. I could bury you for a long time with these charges," she threatened. Lin's look of unhappiness only grew when I burst out laughing at her.

"You are aware that the concept of being locked up in prison has no effect on me, right? I can't die of old age, and the best you can come up with is the threat of a free bed and three hot meals a day? Come on."

"The idea of losing your freedom is something you don't like, and I can very easily make that happen," she said. I quit laughing and leaned forward so that I was eye to eye with her.

"Why don't you practice what you preach and focus on the present, Lin. You and I both know the real reason why you held me back, and it's got jack to do with three low level Triads you could care less about." Lin didn't answer, but she was stewing in her anger, that much was clear.

In truth, I actually felt kind of bad. Her anger with me was on that was very old, older then her and her mother, actually. But, given her upbringing, I could actually see where she might be coming from.

"Lin, this was almost two hundred years ago. When are you going to let ancient family history go?" I asked, my voice softer now.

"You left her, Ryou. You left her single and pregnant and you never came back," Lin said.

"I left to fight in the war, Lin. When I finally got leave and did come back, Renchin was already married and had a child underfoot. I did what any former lover would have done and kept my distance," I replied.

"That was YOUR child, you should have taken responsibility."

"I would have had I KNOWN that fact. I didn't know that the child was mine until that day you dug up the old files. But by then, even the child's children were dead. And you've been busting my balls every chance you get since," I replied. She remained silent as she fell into the chair across from me, her arms folded across her chest as she sulked. Lin, be it good or bad, was as stubborn as any earthbender should be, if not more so. But I had a feeling that I was starting to past that thick skull of hers.

"Your great great grandmother was far better off with that man then she ever was with me, Lin. He had money, influence, and the means to ensure that neither she nor that kid ever had to struggle a day in their lives ever again. What did I have to offer, other then a Corporal's salary and the life of a soldier's family?" I asked. Again, Lin remained silent, her eyes boring into a spot of concrete in the corner.

"If it's any consolation, I did love her. But by the time I came back, she didn't love me, so there was no reason to stay. Your mother and sister saw this and they understood. Hell they didn't even raise as much of a stink about it as you did," I pressed on. Lin flicked her wrist, and the cuffs holding me came undone.

"You're free to go," she muttered. I rubbed my wrists as I stood up and walked around the table toward the door. When I was at her side, I paused and looked down at her.

"It's not just the Triads causing trouble, is it?" I asked. Organized crime had always been a problem in the city. But the fact that Tenzin had canceled his plans to move south, and the fact that Lin was operating in near martial law status? Something else was at play here.

"Get out of my interrogation room," she said, glaring up at me coldly. I sighed in defeat. Apparently I hadn't gotten to her like I thought.

"Always a pleasure, Lin," I said before I walked out of the room. In the main lobby of the building I found Korra and Tenzin waiting. I got my things returned to me before I walked up to them.

"Tenzin, please, don't send me back south," Korra begged. She was trying to convince him to let us stay. But by her tone, I figured she wasn't making much headway. Tenzin looked away from her and focused on me when he saw me approaching.

"Ryou, you blatantly disobeyed the wishes and orders of the White Lotus," he said.

"And your point would be...?" He blinked a few times, clearly stunned at my response. I honestly don't know what he was expecting, I mean this wasn't the first time I had blown off the White Lotus and he knew it.

"But..."

"Tenzin. Keeping Korra in the Compound is a no win situation for everyone. How do you expect her to interact with people, with groups, with governments when she has absolutely no contact with the outside world?" I asked.

"The White Lotus..."

"Are full of themselves. Korra and I made it this far without seeing a single member. Just how far do you think we could have gotten if we DIDN'T want to be found?" I pressed on.

"I..."

"Tenzin, I get that you got your hands full here. We just barely scratched the surface on that with our little tour today. But Korra needs to finish her training if anything is going to get done, you and I both know that." Tenzin fell silent at that. In fact, he remained quiet all throughout our trip to the docks and about halfway across the bay on the ferry.

I stood on the deck in the evening twilight, looking up at the passing statue of Aang. Tenzin was looking too, and looking rather somber about it. Finally he turned to me.

"You're right. Korra needs to finish her training. I've been so caught up in preserving the legacy my father laid down, but she is his legacy. The city and the world need the Avatar," he said. I folded my arms and gave him a half grin.

"You do realize this means you'll have to have a training ring set up for me to continue my work with her, right?" He sighed in resignation at that.

"Yes, I was afraid you'd say that."

"And I want steak, none of that vegetarian crap you guys always try to peddle on me." Tenzin gave me a look.

"As I seem to recall. You eating meat is the primary reason behind you standing here right now," he said before walking toward the stern. I stood and watched him go, stunned at his comeback.

"That was a cheap shot."

 **And that's a wrap. With Ryou and Korra finally in Republic City, we're moving on into the events of the show. What will happen when Ryou meets the others? Stick around and find all know the drill. Drop a review, leave a PM, ask a question, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	6. A Blade in the Grass

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. After some consideration, I've decided on a theme song of sorts for Ryou: 'I Apologize' by Five Finger Death Punch. Now these guys aren't usually in my playlist, but the lyrics of this song in particular stuck me. I might come up with an actual soundtrack for this later, but I don't know just yet. For now, on with the chapter:**

" _Why can't these cultists ever set up base on a resort beach somewhere?" one of the agents complained. A small group of Dai Li agents were moving through a tunnel, which was lit by green luminescent crystals protruding from the walls and ceiling. The group consisted of five men dressed in the Dai Li uniform, plus a sixth wearing civilian clothing standing in the center._

 _"_ _Quiet!" Ryou snapped. His hand was resting on the katana at his hip, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. The Earth King had dispatched Ryou and these agents into the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se in order to take down a cult that was threatening the safety of the city. Despite their high profile status, very little was actually known about this cult. All that Ryou knew was that they were well trained in hand to hand combat, and they worshiped some vague ancient spirit._

 _The tunnel they were in opened into a massive chamber. A few waterfalls fell from the ceiling into a ring of water that encircled the center of the chamber. At the heart of the ring was a raised alter, with figures in black robes all standing around a single figure in green. The man in green was chanting in some sort of religion, while the black robe figures sang in deep voices._

 _"_ _They've started the ritual. Fan out, attack them all at once," Ryou ordered. The Dai Li spread out, sticking to the shadows while Ryou himself walked toward the alter. As soon as he crossed the ring of water, various black robed figures broke away from their protective ring around the alter and charged him._

 _Ryou drew his sword and began to hack his way through the oncoming enemy. One of them brought a large knife down, attempting to stab him. But Ryou simply side stepped while bring his sword up, removing the cultist's arm in a spray of blood. The swordsman instantly reversed the swing, removing the cultist's head from his shoulders with a single swipe._

 _The Dai Li charged forward as well, either ensnaring cultist's with their rock gloves, or using them to literally punch their enemies hearts out. Ryou watched as a rock fist sailed through the air and impact one of the dark figures in the chest, but it continued on it's journey, bursting out the back of the man in a spray of blood and obliterated organs._

 _Then, all at once, time came to a complete standstill. Ryou looked around, puzzled at this sudden shift. Water from the falls was suspended in mid air. A rock fist that had just been fired by an agent hovered a few feet in front of him. In the center of the frozen chaos stood the man in green, his mouth hanging open with no noise coming out._

 _ **"**_ _ **Well. It would seem someone want's my attention."**_ _From all corners of the chamber, the shadows snaked forward toward the alter like lines of ink on the floor. The shadows all came together and settled into the form of a young man. He was wearing monk robes, had a shaven head, and a fair complexion._

 _ **"**_ _ **A shame. So much potential. You could have elevated yourself and your family to a comfortable position of power for decades to come, and yet you chose to squander it all and focus on that which you cannot possibly understand,"**_ _the monk said, speaking to the man in the green robes. He then turned and regarded Ryou._

 _ **"**_ _ **You should have been more like Master Ryou here, and been more interesting,"**_ _he said as he descended the alter toward the swordsman. Ryou raised his sword and held it at the ready._

 _"_ _Who are you?"_

 _ **"**_ _ **I am known by many names from many cultures. But for now, you may call me the Observer. The real question is; who are YOU, Ryou the Wanderer?"**_

 _"_ _How do you know my name?"_

 _ **"**_ _ **It is in my nature to observe the on goings of the worlds. All things come and go, from the tiniest ant to the largest empire. But you, you have been bestowed with a way to avoid the natural process of life altogether. And for that reason, Ryou the Wanderer, you have peaked my interest."**_ _The two were starting to circle each other now, with Ryou pointing his sword at the Observer. He was taking absolutely no chances._

 _"_ _What are you? A Spirit?" he asked._

 _ **"**_ _ **Yes, I am. One almost as old as the great Spirits of Light and Darkness themselves. Unlike the others, who reside in the Spiritual Realm, I reside within the darkness between realms."**_

 _"_ _And you want to escape, walk the mortal plain? Is that it?"_

 _ **"**_ _ **No, no I don't. My job is to ensure that the two realms remain separate and do not crash into each other. However, this can get rather dull. So, as my name implies, I observe the on goings of the world."**_

 _"_ _Then why would they summon you?" Ryou asked, motioning to the cultists still frozen in time around them._

 _ **"**_ _ **You mistake my being here for being the result of their pathetic little ritual. This man and his followers believe that with the right chant, they can bend the Void to their will. The Void is ancient, it is timeless, and it bows to nothing. No, I am not here for them, I am here for you, Ryou."**_

 _"_ _Why? Why me?"_

 _ **"**_ _ **Oh don't play coy. We both know about your little 'condition' as you call it. You are walking contradiction, a mortal thing that cannot die."**_

 _"_ _And what, you're here to kill me?"_

 _ **"**_ _ **On the contrary, I want to give you a gift."**_ _The monk said before he stepped forward and placed his hand on top Ryou's left hand. A searing heat and pain blasted through the hand, causing Ryou to jerk it free and shake it in an effort to get it to wear off. He looked at his hand, which now had a short cross shaped mark on the back of it._

 _ **"**_ _ **Use this gift however you choose. And remember, Wanderer, I will be watching."**_

I burst out of the dream in a sweat, sitting up in my bed quickly and panting a few times in order to get my breath under control. A simple glance at the back of my left hand confirmed that it wasn't a nightmare. The Observer's Mark was still there, in the same spot it had been branded a hundred and eighty years earlier.

When you dedicate your life to being around the Avatar, you tend to encounter spiritual things from time to time. But that day in the catacombs beneath the Earth Kingdom Capital was my first real encounter with the Spirits. After that, I went and did research on the Spirit I had encountered. It was very difficult to find information about him.

Unlike Hai Bi, or more infamous beings like Koh, the Spirit known as the Observer tended to keep to himself, only rarely interacting with the physical world. He preferred to, as his name implied, observe the world, interacting with it when something or someone peaked his interest. With me being, well, me, it was only a matter of time before I encountered him.

The Observer's Mark was something of a curse in it's own right. More fanatical religious secs tended to view the Mark as something vile, as they viewed the Observer to be a dark spirit given the nature of the Void. As a result, anyone with the Mark was to be killed on sight. But these groups were rare, and becoming even more so as times progressed.

In reality, I could walk down the street bearing the Mark and everyone would think it was just a burn scar or a tattoo. That didn't stop me from covering it just to be on the safe side. Once you've had a bloodthirsty group of ideologue try to hunt you down, you tend to take the safer route. But, the thing is, they actually kind of had a point.

Like all living things, the Observer had both a light and a dark side. In the years immediately following the War, Zuko gave funding to a group of scholars who were dedicated to preserving the culture of the Sun Warriors. In one of the abandoned cities, they found carvings in the walls, pictures and paintings that gave reference to the Observer. Not long after, ancient airbender ruins were found with similar images. Even a scroll that Sokka had stolen from the Great Library had a reference to him. The thing was, he was known by a different name.

The Collector.

According to ancient legend, when a bearer of the Observer's Mark dies, he collects their soul. What exactly he does with them is unknown, all is known is that he takes them into the Void where they are never seen again. So you can imagine my reaction to this little development. After four hundred years of being so willing to embrace death, I suddenly had a reason to stay a step ahead of it.

Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I rubbed my head in an effort to clear the sleep. Thinking about the Observer wasn't how I had wanted my day to start out, but it was what had happened regardless. I got dressed for the day. Grabbing up my set of fingerless gloves, I pulled them on, covering up the Mark like I had every morning for the past almost two hundred years. Most people don't spend their every day to day lives wondering how they're going to die or what will happen to them afterward, and even after almost five hundred years I was no exception.

I made my way to the mess hall, where I was treated to a bland breakfast of fruit and oatmeal. It's not often I say this, but I actually missed the meals I could cook up for myself when I was on the road. At least I could get some bacon or something made of meat. Here on Air Temple Island, it was a strictly vegetarian diet. In other words, it was a nightmare for someone like me who loved meat. I mean I was once treated to the finest feasts that the city of Omashu had to offer, and now here I was eating glorified wheat juice with a side of apple. I really shouldn't complain though, this was by far much better then some of the broth concoctions my unit cooked up during the Siege of Ba Sing Se. You could say this was a happy middle ground.

A runny, meatless, middle ground. But a middle ground all the same.

"And in the final round, the Buzzard wasps managed a knockout victory," Korra said as she read from the morning paper. Her and Tenzin were sitting across from each other at a table away from the Air Acolytes. At each corner of the room was posted a White Lotus sentry, their arms clasped behind their backs and their eyes scanning the space between them.

"What do you think, Ryou? Wanna go catch a Pro Bending Match tonight?" she asked as I plopped down in the seat next to her.

"Not interested," I grunted before taking a bite of apple. She looked a little hurt as she cocked her eyebrow at me.

"Well, sorry Mr. Grouch. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she said. I glanced down and stirred my oatmeal a little.

"Sorry, unsettling dream," I said, rubbing my Mark absentmindedly.

"Okay. So what do you say Tenzin, can we go catch a few matches?" she asked, turning toward the airbending master.

"That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending," he declared before taking a sip of his tea. I rolled my eyes. Maybe it was the fact that he had always been so strict, or maybe it was his airbending pacifist nature, but Tenzin had never really liked sports. Personally I had never really gotten into Pro Bending either. I always preferred the underground, no holds bard matches. The kind where you could either walk away a few thousand yuan richer, or get carted out on a stretcher or in a coffin.

"Oh come on, Tenzin. I've waited my whole life to see a Pro Bending Match and now I'm just a ferry ride away from the Arena," Korra said, motioning over her shoulder toward the open window.

"You are not here to watch that drivel," Tenzin reminded, "you are here to complete your Avatar training. So for the time being I want you both to remain on the Island." I dropped my spoon into my oatmeal and looked up at him with a glare.

"Excuse me? It sounded like you said 'both of us'," I said.

"I did. Lin has made it clear that she doesn't want you running around the city. And seeing as how Korra looks up to you, I would prefer it if you stayed in one place and not wandered off somewhere for her to follow," Tenzin said.

"Listen up, buster. Asking me to stay in one spot is one thing, but don't think you're old enough for me to not take you across my knee if you want to start giving me orders," I said, jabbing a finger at him. The airbending master's ears turned red, and Korra snickered behind her hand. Looking back, I realize how the whole situation must have looked. A twenty year old threatening to discipline a middle aged man like he was a child is about as absurd as it gets. But at the moment I didn't really care.

"Ryou, if you would, could you please remain on the Island so that Korra can focus on her training?" Tenzin asked. I sat back and folded my arms. My point of having Korra get out and experience the world still stood. Keeping her here on the Island was just the Compound being transplanted a few thousand miles north.

"I will consider it. But I still have my own training regiments with her as well. And I will dictate where those take place," I said. Was I gonna go against everyone's wishes and take Korra off the Island? You bet. Was I doing it just to spite the White Lotus? Not fully, that was just an added perk. Tenzin sighed in defeat.

"Very well. Alright Korra, let's get started," he said before standing.

"You're the Master," she replied, laying the newspaper down on the table before following him out of the room. I picked it up and flipped through the pages, looking for anything interesting. One article caught my eye. It was about this group that was calling themselves the Equalists, and their mysterious masked leader Amon.

I'd first heard about the Equalists a few years earlier when I was passing through a small town on the United Republic border. Back then, they were nothing more then a small fringe group. As easily ignorable and forgettable as some of those groups that claim the end of the world will happen every year. Now though, they were gaining both steam and popularity. From what I could tell, they wanted reform in the government of the United Republic and the other nations so that non benders and benders were treated equally.

As admirable as a non bender like myself may have found this, the fact remained that the Equalists were more then willing to resort to violence in order to get what they wanted. I'd seen these revolutionary types before, and it always ended one of two ways; bloody dictatorship, or crushing defeat.

Standing, I went to the kitchen and began to rinse out my bowl. As I was finishing up, I felt a shiver go down my spine, like someone was looking over my shoulder. The Mark inched a little, and I scratched it while glancing around the room only to find that I was alone. My hand brushed against the sword hilt on my belt. Hair on the back of my neck stood up, and goosebumps appeared up and down my arms.

The last time I had felt something like this was almost forty years earlier, just before Aang, Toph, and myself had arrested a crime lord by the name of Yakone. With this, and the dream I'd had the previous night, it couldn't be a coincidence. Something was about to happen, and the Observer was watching.

* * *

By the end of the week, a routine had been settled into. Korra would train in airbending with Tenzin in the mornings, and then in the late afternoons into evenings she would train with me. Her airbending wasn't really going anywhere, but her work with me was making leaps and bounds. She now had a mastery of the basics and was starting to incorporate the use of the terrain around her into our sparing matches.

Unfortunately, she was also using her sessions with me as a release for frustration in the airbending field. That morning, she had fully lost her temper and destroyed a cluster of ancient airbending training gates. Why Tenzin wasn't using reproductions and having the originals set up in a museum somewhere was beyond me. But the damage was done, and there was no taking it back.

I would have thought that her firebending training would have taught her control over her emotions and how they effected her ability to fight, or handle stressful situations in general. It seems this was yet another area her previous teachers had failed her in.

"No, focus! Channel your anger, let it fuel, not consume!" I snapped as I slapped away her attempted jab at my chest. Korra was dressed in full pads, and even had a helmet with a face guard on it. I was just dressed in my normal clothing. She swung a long swipe at me, intending to hit me in the ribs. I brought my sword up, deflecting hers away with an upward slash before reversing it and bringing the wooden blade down on her shoulder. Korra cried out in pain and fell to one knee, her free hand grasping her shoulder.

"You're letting your frustration with airbending get in the way," I noted as I took a resting stance. Korra yelled in frustration, yanking her helmet off and throwing it across the training yard.

"I suck at it! Everything bending wise I've ever done up until now has been easy, and I can't even get the basics now!"

"You're looking at it from Tenzin's point of view," I said, "you need to look at it from a fighting point of view."

"How? And how would you know what airbending implies? You're a non bender," she said.

"Just because I can't control the element doesn't mean I can't study the art and use it to my advantage," I replied.

"Alright, how do I look at it from a fighting point of view?"

"Think of it as if you're fighting much larger, more powerful opponent. One hit from you isn't going to mean much, but one from him will finish you off. In order to beat him, you have to stay light on your feet, ducking, dodging and weaving and striking back with what you can," I explained, demonstrating this by circling a dummy and making quick strikes with the sword against the straw mannequin.

"You're saying I need to think more like a waterbener," she said.

"Yes. Rather then take your enemies' head on, you evade his attacks, switch directions at the last second," I said. Korra seemed to think my words over before she suddenly attacked me. I was stunned by the attack, but only for a short moment, quickly putting her on the defensive as the wooden blades clashed into each other.

Apparently she took my words to heart, being much quicker on her feet then before. Korra danced around me, sticking at me every chance she got. I stood my ground, fending off her attacks as they came. Finally she showed how much progress she was making by managing to disarm me. I watched as the sword flew out of my hands, only to dodge as she attacked again.

She swung downward at me, and I sidestepped, allowing her wooden sword to hit the stones where I had been standing just a moment before. I grabbed her blade and we began to fight for control of the weapon. Korra turned away from me and yanked downward, flipping me over her body and causing me to land on my back.

I kept my grip on the sword and pulled forward, pulling Korra down on top of me. The wooden blade flew free of our grip, skidding well beyond either of our grasps. Korra began to crawl forward, trying to reach it first. I grabbed her sides and rolled us over so I was on top of her, pinning her arms to the ground so she couldn't move.

"Um. Hi," she said when she realized the position we were in. Her cheeks turned a shade of crimson.

"Hi," I replied, grinning down at her.

"You can get off me now," she said. I leaned down closer so that I was looking her square in the eye. Her blush deepened as I leaned further into her personal space.

"And let you get free? How dumb do you think I am?" I asked.

"I..I don't..."

"As long as you draw breath, the fight is never over, Korra," I said, "now get yourself out of it." The Avatar struggled beneath me, managing to get her feet up into my chest before shoving with all of her might. I was flung off and landed on my back. Before I could react, Korra was on top of me with her fist held at the ready, a jet of flame erupting from it.

"I got you now," she said, grinning down at me. But she made a mistake and leaned her head a little too close. I returned her grin when I noticed that she hadn't noticed her error.

"Do you?" Her grin quickly faded, and I cracked my forehead against hers. Korra was stunned and reared her head back, the fire blade dissipating in the process. I surged upward, grabbing her by the forearms as I wrestled for control again. Before she could react, I had gotten behind her and placed her in a choke hold. I wrapped my legs around her midsection, using my body weight to weigh her down as I cut off her oxygen supply.

She beat her fist against my forearm, trying to break my hold. I only tightened in response, determined to see her defeated if she couldn't find another way out. Korra's blows became softer and softer as she slowly began to black out. At the last possible second, she threw her hand out before her before jerking it back, like she was becoming someone to come to her.

I suddenly saw stars as a rock sailed from across the courtyard and slammed into my forehead. My grip on her vanished as I was forced backwards onto my back again, my head spinning. Korra clawed away as fast as she could, coughing and sucking air into her lungs. We were back on our feet at the same time, only she had her sword in her hand again.

She swept the blade along the ground, launching dust straight into my face. I yelled out in pain and annoyance as I was blinded by the strike. The world was suddenly dark as my eyes were squeezed shut to keep any more dust from getting into them. Now I was impressed, she was starting to include her bending in her blade work.

"Very clever," I commented. If she was smart, she would use this moment to try and either slip away, or relocate to a position from which I could not beat her.

"Nice to be appreciated," she said, her voice coming from my right. Oh well, the student still has a lot to learn apparently. Despite my lack of sight, I was on her before she could react. I had the sword free of her grip and back in my hand in the blink of an eye. In an instant, I had my free hand gripping her forehead from behind, pulling her head back so that I could press the blade to her throat with my sword hand.

"Dead." One single word, and it was all over. I released her and took a few steps back. Based on her breathing, I could tell she was worn out.

"How did you do that when you can't see?" she asked, panting.

"There was a period of about six months when I lost my sight during the war thanks to a blasting jelly explosion. I learned to hone my other senses, should the day ever come that I lose my sight," I replied.

"I shouldn't have spoken," she realized.

"Yes, now you see your mistake. Even if you manage to land a crippling blow on your enemy, you must never lower your expectations. Use his weakness against him, but never underestimate him," I instructed. I heard scraping on the ground, and realized that she was walking closer to me. A towel appeared on my face, wiping away the dust. My other senses were heightened thanks to the loss of my sight. I could smell her, the tang of sweat combined with a hint of something feminine. It was the sweat we had worked up in the spar combined with the shampoo she had used that morning.

My left hand reached up and gripped hers as she wiped down my face. I could feel her pulse racing beneath my fingertips. In fact, her pulse elevated slightly just after I touched her. The last bit of dust was brushed away, and I opened my eyes. Her cyan blue eyes were looking up at me, although I couldn't exactly tell what was going on behind them.

"Thanks," I said. She blinked and swallowed, realizing that I had spoken and she was staring.

"Um, yeah, sure. No problem," she replied before taking a step backwards. I kept the towel and buried my face in it, scrubbing off the last of the dirt.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," she said. I froze and looked at my hand. My glove had been torn off during the scuffle, giving Korra a full view of the Mark.

"It's just something that got slapped on me a while back," I replied, hoping that if I made it sound boring, she drop the subject.

"What does it mean? It looks like some kind of symbol," she said, trying to take a closer look.

"It's been so long I don't remember," I lied. She grabbed my hand and looked closer at it before reaching out to touch it. Just before her fingers brushed against the Mark, she froze. A look of puzzlement came over her face.

"What?"

"It's just...a feeling I'm getting," she said.

"A good feeling or a bad feeling?"

"I'm not sure...just a feeling," she said again before letting my hand go. I found my glove and slid it back on, eager to get the Mark out of view again.

"So are we done?" she asked.

"Yes, training is over for today."

"Do you want to come with me to the Pro Bending Arena later?" she asked. I knew she had been sneaking off the Island for the past few nights to go watch, but I didn't think she'd ask me to go with her.

"Are you asking me on a date?" I asked. Her cheeks flushed crimson again, and I had to turn slightly to hide my amused grin.

"No no, just some new friends I wanted to introduce you to," she said.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to decline," I said, "I have to plan out the next phase of your training." She looked disappointed at that. The explanation I had given her was the truth, I did next to sit down and figure out where to go next from here. But I also didn't really want to go near the Arena. Too many people in one place for my liking.

"Tell you what, we'll go on a field trip into the city in a few days, and you can introduce me to them then," I offered. She brightened a little at that.

"That sounds like a good plan," she said.

"Good, now go get cleaned up. You don't wanna go around your new friends smelling like you just got your ass kicked by an old man," I joked. She gave me a look, but smiled regardless as she stripped off the gear and then jogged off to take a shower. I collected the equipment and set it all up for the next day's session before heading back to my room.

Lighting a few candles, I sat on my bead in a meditative position and began to review everything that was going on inside my head. The rising of the Equalists, the return of the Observer, it all weighed heavily on my mind. There was a nagging feeling that I had which told me that it was only a matter of time before the blade of my sword was soaked in blood again.

I didn't want to kill. Five hundred years of it had left me with a bad taste in my mouth. But I wasn't turning into an ideological fool either. I've been around enough to know that sometimes the only option you have is to take the life of another. Out of all the people in the world, there are those out there who's only decent contribution they could make would be if they stopped breathing. These Equalists though, I wasn't sure if I was ready to cross that line with them yet. If they proved that they were more then willing to take lives and terrorize to get what they wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to answer them in kind.

A knock at the door brought me out of my thoughts. I opened my eyes to find that a lot of time had passed, a few hours or so based on how far the candles had burned down. Time tends to fly when you're contemplating life and death.

"Come in," I said. The door slid open, and Korra slipped inside. She looked absolutely giddy as she danced back and forth on her feet like a child needing to use the bathroom.

"Someone's mood has improved," I noted.

"I managed to convince Tenzin to let me off the Island, and I got onto a Pro Bending Team," she said.

"How did that fly with Mr. Mockery of the Arts?" I asked, genuinely surprised at this development. Tenzin had been so entrenched in his stance on Pro Bending he might as well have been an earthbender.

"He saw me using the airbending techniques in the match and figures this might be the best way to help me get through my block," she explained. I smiled at that.

"See? Like I said, a different point of view." She was bursting with excitement as she started to leave my room.

"I gotta get some sleep, the team has practice early in the morning," she said.

"Don't overdo it, a good warrior knows their own limits," I warned.

"I can handle it," she replied, her pride and ego showing. I wasn't so sure, but I knew that only time would tell.

"What team did you get on, anyway?" I asked.

"The Fire Ferrets, the new guys," she said before closing the door. The Fire Ferrets, I had read about them in the paper. They were an up and coming rookie team that was undefeated so far. Everyone seemed to believe that unless their flame suddenly burned out, the Ferrets had what it took to make it all the way to the Finals and be crowned the new champions. Oh great, as if Korra's ego wasn't bad enough as it was. Being in the city spotlight as the Avatar was already a problem as it was, the added limelight of being a Pro Bending star would either make her cautious about her approaches, or make her prideful to a fault.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be great," I muttered to myself.

 **And Cut. Once again, I never could have gotten this far without your guy's support. So what did you think of these new developments? And how will Ryou handle meeting Mako and Bolin as well as Amon? I encourage you all, please, don't hesitate to drop a review, leave a PM, or ask a question or two, and I'll see you all next time.**


	7. Revelations Part 1

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Once again, I can't thank you guys enough for the support you have shown for this story. And now, on with the chapter:**

The morning sun felt warm on my back as it rose over the mountains east of the city. I was sitting on a small rise overlooking a cliff on Air Temple Island, facing the opposite direction of the sun and staring out to sea. I wasn't exactly meditating, more like I was just enjoying the nice morning. Winter was almost here, and it was a going to be one of the last days before the cold came down from the mountains.

Korra was currently at the Arena, attending her team's practice session. It had been about a week since she had managed to get a place on the Fire Ferrets. So far, Korra was handling the stress of two training regiments and a Pro Bending Team rather well. Although she had yet to produce a puff of air, she seemed to have settled into her airbending training rather well.

"Master Ryou?" came a voice from off to my side. I opened my eyes and found Jinora standing a short distance away. Oh well, so much for a quiet moment to myself.

"Yes?"

"I was hoping if I could ask you a few questions," she said. I noticed that she was holding a leather bound book in her hands. Probably her grandmother's journal again, if I had to guess. I motioned for her to come forward and have a seat. If she was anything like her father, she wouldn't stop pestering and asking until her thirst for knowledge was quenched.

"What is it you want to know, little one?" I asked as she sat down in front of me.

"Well, for starters, Gran Gran's journal says that you first came forward to Grandpa Aang and the others just after the end of the Hundred Year War. And from what I've been told, you haven't aged a day since then. How old are you, exactly? And where do you come from?" she asked.

"I was born in a small fishing village on what is now known as Kyoshi Island," I answered.

"And your age?"

"Jinora, haven't your parents taught you manners? It's impolite to ask someone's age," I said. The airbending girl's cheeks flushed, and I gave her a smile to show that I was just messing with her.

"I'll turn five hundred after the start of the new year," I finished. The girl looked astounded at this, and I could see that I had just opened a box I might not be able to put the lid back on.

"How did you get this way?" she asked.

"I ate a Ningyo," I answered. That night was still vivid in my mind, despite the mundane of the events. I guess that's what happens when a your life changes forever.

"A Ningyo? I don't ever remember reading about those in my books," she said.

"I wouldn't have expected you to. They are incredibly rare. Much more so then a dragon."

"Are there any others out there like you?" Her question gave me pause. It wasn't like I hadn't thought about during my five centuries of wandering. For about fifty years after Kyoshi had died, I'd gone on a world wide quest to locate anything and everything that had to do with the subject.

"According to legend there has been, but I've never actually met any," I said.

"It must be so lonely," Jinora commented. I remained silent at that. In truth, it is a lonely existence.

"Jinora, you got chores!" came Pema's shout from across the island. The young girl looked in the direction of her mother's voice.

"Coming, Mom!" she yelled back. I took that moment and blinked. In an instant, I was sitting on a branch that had been about ten feet above my head, my back resting against the trunk of the tree. Jinora looked back to where I had been sitting and instantly froze. She frowned in confusion as she looked about. Finally, she gave up and went to go fulfill her mother's orders.

I watched as she went, my hand rubbing the Mark in the process. This was just one of the many 'gifts' the Observer had referred to when he'd slapped the thing on me. I'd made it a point to only use them in truly desperate situations, or to get away from curious girls who didn't really know when to stop badgering an old man. She'd be back again, which meant I'd have to find a new spot.

The day passed fairly quickly, and it was around sundown when Korra came looking for me for her day's session. I decided to take it easy on her and let her get adjusted to her new schedule, so I began teaching her a more advanced set. We were moving through the forms, with me preforming them slowly, and then her copying my actions. Jinora and Iiki had taken up seats nearby, watching us practice.

"Remember, light on your feet," Jinora said. I didn't bother to counter the girl's offer of advice. This particular set was more suited to someone of Korra's frame, allowing the person to be more quick and agile. So her advice was actually something I had been about to state myself. We took a quick break, allowing Korra to catch her breath as I leaned on the wooden sword. Behind her came a newcomer up the stairs from the dock. He looked to be about Korra's age, thin and tall with dark hair and a red scarf around his neck.

"He's cute. Korra, is that the handsome firebending boy that drives you crazy?" Jinora asked. Korra's head jerked up and looked behind her to spy Mako.

"Does he drive you crazy like he makes you angry, or does he drive you crazy like you like him?" Iiki asked. The Avatar slammed her foot into the ground, launching the sisters into the air with a pillar of earth.

"Smooth," I commented with my arms folded. Korra shot a glare at me before turning toward the newcomer.

"Hey, Mako," she greeted.

"Bolin around?" Mako asked.

"Nice to see you too. And no, I haven't seen him since practice. Think something's wrong?" she asked.

"Bolin has a knack for getting into situations. I'll see you later," Mako said as he turned to leave. Short, sweet, and to the point, I liked this guy.

"Wait, we could help you look for him," Korra said. I frowned at that.

"What do you mean we?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow at her.

"I mean we, as in you and I," she replied, motioning back and forth between us. I gave her a look.

"I don't recall volunteering for this."

"Well I volunteered for you."

"That won't be necessary," Mako said.

"Hey, let us help you. Three pairs of eyes are better then one," Korra said.

"Again with the we and the us, I don't know this guy from Agni and you're wanting me to go traipsing off into the city with him?" I asked, jerking my thumb in Mako's direction. Korra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Ryou this is Mako, my team captain. Mako this is Ryou, my defense instructor," she said, giving the introductions. I glared at her, knowing that she had used 'defense instructor' just to get on my nerves.

"Well, if your training the Avatar in something I guess you can handle yourself," Mako said, "alright, let's go." I looked back and forth between the two of them. Finally I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to get out of it.

"Jinora, put the equipment up and inform your father we're leaving," I said, tossing my sword to the girl. Korra did the same with a smile, which quickly faltered when she saw my glare on her again.

"After this is over, I'm gonna make you run laps until I throw up."

* * *

"You've got to be one of the youngest masters I've ever seen," Mako said as we walked. Korra and I stole a glance at each other. Her eyes were shining with unheard laughter.

"Keep telling yourself that, bud," I replied as Korra snickered. He looked at us, confused about the joke he hadn't been let in on, but continued walking all the same. We entered the square that sat in front of Central City Station. In the heart of it all stood a statue of Zuko, which spewed a constant stream of fire out of it's raised hand.

I looked up at the statue for a moment with my arms folded. Being as I was one of the only founders of the city who didn't have a statue standing somewhere, it was a weird experience. It wasn't that I was jealous, if anything I was happy to remain in the shadows and out of sight of the people. I just found it to be a surreal experience, to see those whom I had known in flesh and blood achieve their own form of immortality through metal and stone.

At the base of the statue were several children, mostly between the ages of ten and thirteen if I had to guess. Two of them were wrestling with each other, while the others looked on and laughed.

"You guys seen my brother around?" Mako asked. One of the on lookers, a kid wearing a cap and covered with dirt stepped toward us.

"Maybe. My memory is a little...foggy. Maybe you can clear it up," he said while rubbing his fingers together.

"You're good, Skoochy. A real pro," Mako said in an annoyed tone as he slipped him a Yuan. Korra's face was one of shock, and then rage at the kid. I, however, remained stoic and uninterested. So long as the kid kept his hands to himself, I really didn't care. It wasn't like the money was leaving my pocket.

"Yeah I seen him."

"When?"

"Around noon. He was doing some circus monkey rat performance. And then..." he trailed off, wagging his fingers again. Mako hurried slapped another bill down.

"Then what?"

"Shady Shin showed up and flashed some serious cash. Bolin took off with him in his hot rod. Word on the street is all the Triads are gearing up for something big. The Triple Threats, the Red Monsoons, the Agni Kais, all of em. Now that's all you're getting out of me," the kid finished before running off. Oh great, three out of the four major crime syndicates in the city were involved now. I was starting to like this Bolin guy less and less.

"What's going on?" Korra asked.

"Sounds like there's a turf war brewing, and Bolin's about to get caught right in the middle of it," Mako answered.

"What would Bolin have been hired for by the Triple Threats?" I asked.

"They only hire out for two things, running numbers and muscle. Bolin's math skills were never very good so more then likely he was hired to be a bouncer or a body guard of some sort," Mako answered.

"Most likely place he'd be stationed would be the place where they run things, unless they got him watching over a warehouse or small time buisnes or something," I stated.

"If there's a turf war brewing he'll be at their HQ. Lightning Bolt Zolt likes to hunker down when things get tense," Mako said as he started walking, "I can't believe Bolin got himself into this!"

"You know where their base is?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a restaurant not far from here," Mako answered. I made a sweeping gesture with my arm.

"Well then, let's go find your brother." The trip to the Triple Threats' hangout didn't take very long, as it was only about five blocks or so from the Station. Along the way, both Korra and Mako spotted a Fire Ferret scamper up a nearby lamp post. Apparently the glorified rat was Bolin's pet, which meant that the earthbender couldn't have been too far off.

We arrived in front of the headquarters of the Triple Threats. It was a building that was five stories tall with a restaurant on the ground floor. As far as blending in went, the place served it's purpose. But still, something bothered me, and it wasn't just the fact that this was the headquarters of one of the city's largest crime syndicates.

"Something's not right, there are usually thugs posted around the door," Mako said. I was glad, I wasn't the only one who was noticing these things. The firebender moved up to the door slowly and cautiously, unsure of what he was going to find. Korra however simply walked up to the doors and kicked them in like she owned the place.

I rolled my eyes at this. If she kept this up she was gonna get blasted when she kicked in the wrong door. Rather then follow the two teens inside, I slipped around to the side of the building and headed toward the back alley. It doesn't matter if its pirates, Triads, or some other kind of crime, don't look in the restaurant or bar, look in the alleyway behind them if you want to see the gritty details.

Rather then your typical drug deal or some other low level crime, I found something completely unexpected. There was a group of people in dark gray uniforms wearing gas masks loading Triad Thugs into the back of a truck. Using the shadows of the alley, I crept closer to the nearest figure. He was sitting astride a motorcycle, watching as his comrades finished their work.

The truck's engine rumbled to life, and an instant later the back door to the building burst open, revealing Mako and Korra.

"Bolin!" Mako shouted, apparently catching a glimpse of his brother before the back doors to the truck fully closed and the vehicle began to pull away. At that moment I made my move, descending upon the motorcyclist before he could react. I kicked him from the seat, grabbing a bola from his belt as he fell. I threw the weapon at another cyclist nearby, entangling his hands and knocking him from his ride as well.

"Come on!" I yelled as I kick started the bike. The pair ran over, with Mako taking the spare motorcycle and Korra climbing on behind me.

"I didn't know you could ride a motorcycle," she said as she wrapped her arms around my midsection.

"You'd be surprised at what I can ride," I replied before I twisted the throttle. The rear tire squealed as we tore after the truck with Mako following close behind. The truck, along with the two remaining bikes, were at least a block ahead of us. I gunned it even harder, gaining ground on them. Korra leaned around me and sent bolts of fire after our targets.

The motorcyclists slalomed back and forth, dodging the fire blasts. Growing frustrated, Korra clenched her fists around my stomach and jerked them upward. Instantly a slab of stone erupted beneath one of the bikers, launching both man and machine high into the air. Evidently the rider had experience as he stuck the landing with ease and continued on as if nothing had happened.

"What are you doing?!" Korra shrieked in surprise when she realized that we weren't going around her makeshift ramp.

"Just hang on!" I shot back as I gunned the throttle. Her grip on me tightened just before we launched into the air. Like the guy we were chasing, I stuck the landing and continued on as if nothing had happened. I felt Korra shutter as she huddled against my back, but I was too focused on the chase to take my eyes off the road ahead of us.

"You alright?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Yeah, just...yeah," she replied.

"Good, cause we're not out of this yet," I said as I drew my sword hilt. We rocketed out of the narrow street and into a large open square. Suddenly, the two bikers slammed on their breaks and spun to face us, throwing bolas in the process. Both Korra and I dodged, but Mako wasn't as lucky. The firebender's hands were bound together, and his arms bound to his side, causing him to lose control and fall from his bike.

I slammed on the breaks as well, bringing our motorcycle to a halt. As soon as we were stopped, Korra was off the bike and sprinting toward Mako had slid to a halt. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises, he appeared to be alright, leaving me to face down these new opponents. They had dismounted from their motorcycles and were advancing on the pair of teens, each one of them swinging a new pair of bolas as they went.

Reviving the throttle, I let the back tire squeal, getting these two's attention. I sped toward them like a cavalryman intending to run someone down. At the last second, I stood in the seat and then jumped from the bike. It fell onto it's side and slid toward them in a shower of sparks. Both jumped and dodged, but the machine slid into one of their bikes, totaling both vehicles.

As for me, I landed in a roll and came up onto both feet with the blade extended, ready for a fight. Both of them had recovered from my surprise attempt with flattening them with the motorcycle and were advancing on me. Just as they were getting ready to throw their bolas at me, a burst of fire struck one of them head on.

The figure that had been hit, a woman based on what anatomy was visible, turned to find Korra descending upon her with both fists engulfed in flames. With the woman now fighting Korra, the remaining figure, a man, focused on me. He let both bolas fly before charging me straight on. I recognized the movements instantly.

It may have been a few decades since I last encountered it, but chi blocking was a fighting style I had a lot of experience with. A lot of people viewed it as the ultimate counter to bending and benders in general. In reality, it was a fighting style that was fairly short coming. If you had surprise on your side and your opponent had little experience, victory would be yours unfortunately for this guy, I was neither surprised nor inexperienced.

I sliced both bolas in half in mid air, cutting the rope that bound the two balls together on both of them so the balls went flying off in wild directions. Then, without even changing my stance, I brought my blade up in a single upward slice. The man screamed in pain as his left hand went sailing away into the night. Before he could do anything else, I grabbed him by the arm and pressed the tip of my blade to his throat.

"Answer my questions, and I'll let you walk away with your airways intact," I hissed. He whimpered in response, a combination of fear from my blade and pain from his severed hand.

"Where is that truck headed?"

"I don't know! We were ordered to round up the Triple Threat leadership. We're just the grunts, if anyone knows what's going on its the PR guys."

"PR guys?"

"Yeah, there are protesters and criers placed all over the city, usually near the park. Please, man, don't kill me," he begged. Before I could respond, the a bola wrapped itself around my throat. The velocity of the weapon was enough to jerk me back, causing me to fall and release my grip on the man. In an instant his female comrade was at his side. The two quickly mounted the only remaining motorcycle and sped off in the direction the truck had gone.

I sat up and untangled the bola from around my neck, angry with myself for not paying more attention. Looking around, I noticed Korra getting up as well. Apparently the woman had given her quite the beat down. She thrust her fist outward, but was rewarded with nothing happening.

"I can't bend, I can't bend!" she said, starting to panic when she tried again and achieved the same results.

"It'll wear off, just give it a minute," Mako said as he hobbled over, holding his arm. He looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise more worn out then anything else.

"Who were those guys?" Korra asked.

"Chi-Blockers. Amon's henchmen," Mako answered.

"Amon? Isn't he that masked guy against bending that everyone's talking about?" Korra asked.

"Yeah, he's the leader of the Equalists."

"What do they want with the Triple Threats?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good. And now we got no way to follow them," the firebender said as he looked over the three wrecks of the motorcycles. I collapsed my sword and returned it to it's place on my belt before I began looking the scene over.

There were a few burn out marks from where the Equalists had peeled out, but other then that the whole area was pavement, meaning that following tire tracks was impossible. There was a small blood trail, meaning that the guy who's hand I had taken was still bleeding.

"One of these guys is still bleeding," I said over my shoulder as I crouched to investigate the blood a little closer. The two came over and looked over my shoulder at what I was talking about.

"You think we can follow the trail?" Korra asked. I shook my head.

"Doubtful. See the size of the drops and how much space is between them? If he hasn't stopped the bleeding by now, he'll have at least slowed it enough to the point that he won't be leaving a trail anymore. Besides, my money is on him going for medical attention, not the truck," I replied.

"So we got no leads," Mako said in defeat.

"I wouldn't say that," I said, "the guy said that some of their protesters might know where they're taking them."

"Where do we start?" Korra asked.

"The park would be as good as any."

* * *

It was approaching dawn when we finally arrived at a fountain at the park. Both Mako and Korra collapsed next to it, while Pabu began to get a drink. The morning fog had enveloped the city, giving the park a haunted feeling. I stood with my arms folded while my companions caught their breath.

"There's a set up for an Equalist protester over there," Mako said, pointing past me.

"We might as well wait here and rest. It's gonna be a few hours before someone shows up," I said before making my way over and sitting at the base of a tree. Korra came over and sat beside me, while Mako sat against a tree a short distance away with Pabu curled up in his lap.

"So what's Bolin doing hanging around with the Triple Threats anyway?" Korra asked.

"Well, we use to do some work for them back in the day," Mako said.

"Wait, are you some kind of criminal?" I snorted at that, earning a glare from her.

"No, all I did was run numbers for them. We were orphans out on the street, I did what I had to do to survive, to protect my little brother," Mako defended. Korra's anger softened at that.

"I'm sorry. It must have been rough. Can I ask...what happened to your parents?" she asked. Mako sighed.

"They were mugged by a firebender. He cut them down right in front of me. This scarf is all I got left of them, and Bolin is the only family I have left," he said. I remained silent, sitting against the tree trunk with my arms folded and my legs crossed out in front of me. In truth, I felt kind of sorry for the guy. My lonely years didn't come until later, when old age started to take people away from me.

"So what's your story?" Mako asked, turning toward me.

"What makes you think I got a story?" I asked.

"You managed to get yourself appointed as an instructor of the Avatar. Clearly you have a story," Mako reasoned. Even Korra shrugged, unable to find a valid argument against his point.

"Yes. But my story is a long one, and we don't have time for it all," I said.

"Just the part about getting to train Korra would work," he said. I groaned and let my head fall against the trunk. He just wasn't going to stop until I gave him answer. Oh well, might as well tell him the truth and let him work out the minor details on his own.

"I've been training Avatars in the art of swordsmanship for a long time," I said.

"Avatars? As in Avatar plural?"

"Yes."

"I thought there was only one Avatar at a time," he said, confused.

"There is," Korra answered.

"So then how are you able to train multiple Avatars when there's only one at a time?" he asked.

"I showed up and offered to teach them. Sometimes they accepted and sometimes they didn't," I said simply.

"Are you implying something?" Mako asked.

"No, I'm stating facts. Could you believe there was a time that this one over here wouldn't even touch a steak knife? And now look at her, ready to jump into the fire head first," I said, jerking my head toward Korra. The firebender just continued to stare at me.

"Look, Ryou is...a lot older then he looks. Trust me it gives you less of a headache if you just go with it," Korra said. Mako just continued to sit and stare.

"So how old are you?" he finally asked.

"About five hundred."

"And you expect me to believe you?" I folded my arms and scrunched down against the tree.

"Personally I couldn't care what you do. Right now, I'm gonna get some shut eye."

"But..."

"Mako."

"What?"

"Shut up and get some sleep."

 **And that's a wrap on the first half of the Revelation. What do you guys think? Love it, hate it? Let me know. Drop a review, leave a PM, as a question or two if you're confused, and I'll see you all next time.**


	8. Revelations Part 2

**Hey guys, I'm back with Part Two of the Revelation. As of this chapter, we've broken seventy reviews. Holy shit, guys, I can't thank you enough for your support. And now, on with the story:**

"Equality now! Equality now! We want Equality now!" The shouting of the protester was enough to make me crack my eyes open and look around to see what was going on. It appeared to be mid to late morning, based on the position of the sun. The fog was gone, and the shade of the tree was just the right temperature.

Sitting a short distance away, I noticed Mako looking at me with an amused look on his face. I frowned at that as I started to stretch, only to notice something weighing my shoulder down. Turning my head, I found myself face to face with Korra's dark brown hair. The Avatar had fallen asleep while leaning against me.

I rolled my shoulder, causing enough movement to bring her out of her sleep. She blinked as the sleep slowly left her head and she had a content look on her face, making it clear that she was enjoying this.

"Comfy?" I asked. She looked up at me, then down at the position we were in. Blood rushed to her cheeks as it dawned on her what was going on. I just cocked my eyebrow down at her.

Three.

Two.

One.

"AH!" she gasped as she sprung backward in surprise. This earned a laugh from Mako. I would have been inclined to join him, but the constant yelling of the protester was giving me a headache.

"Come on, you two, we got an earthbender to find," I said as I pulled myself to my feet and popped my back. Korra led the way over to where the protester was set up. There was a large banner with a hooded man wearing a mask along with the symbol for equality in the center of a blood red circle. The protester himself was a young man, just out of college with pale skin, brown hair and sideburns, and amber colored eyes.

"Non benders of Republic City, Amon calls you to action! Take back your city!" the man yelled into a bullhorn. Korra started to walk forward, but I put my hand on her shoulder and held her back. She looked back at me with her eyebrow cocked in confusion. I simply gave her a smile before walking forward myself. I came to a halt directly in front of the man and folded my arms, waiting for him to take notice of me.

"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists! Together we can take back what is rightfully ours!" he screamed into his horn, which was directly in my face. I cringed at the noise level, but otherwise kept my cool.

"Could you not do that, please?" I asked.

"The message of Amon must be heard!" he yelled before trailing off, looking over my shoulder and noticing Korra. His eyes bugged out of his head for a moment in recognition before they narrowed again. He'd just found his next target to yell at.

"It's her! You cannot silence me, Avatar!" he yelled, widening his stance and pointing at her. Having the bullhorn being used directly in my face for the third time was enough for me to finally snap. I grabbed his outstretched and twisted, causing him to yelp as he dropped his device and his body twisted in pain.

"Do that again, and I'll make sure no one ever hears you speak," I warned before releasing him. He rolled his wrist a few times and rubbed it, trying to get the pain to wear off.

"I should have known the Avatar would go to such lengths to keep the voice of the Revolution silent. Typical bender tactic," he said.

"Not a bender, so your point is invalid," I replied. He looked at me with pure contempt in his eyes.

"You're nothing more then a slave to her, and a traitor to your own kind," he said with venom in his voice.

"Alright, lets just skip over the whole exchange of insults and get to the reason we're here. Someone was taken by the Equalists last night, I want to know where they were taken," I said.

"I wouldn't know about that. And if this person was a bender, then they'll get what's coming to them," he replied. I glanced down at the posters that were being handed out at this guy's feet. A few of them had been turned over by the morning breeze, showing off a map image on the back.

I grabbed a small stack of the fliers and began to walk off, leaving the protester confused. Apparently the other two were just as confused, looking at each other before coming after me. The protester apparently wasn't flabbergasted for long as he soon was shouting again, his voice fading as we went further and further away.

"Is there a reason why we just left him?" Korra asked.

"He may be spouting bullshit, but the guy still has the right to free speech," I replied.

"But we didn't get any information out of him," Mako said.

"Wrong. These fliers are for something called the Revelation," I said, holding up the fliers I had grabbed, "and each one of them has a different map piece on the back."

"So it's like a puzzle," Korra said as she took a few of the fliers and looked them over.

"Exactly."

* * *

It was evening, almost nine to be exact. A fog had rolled in and covered the industrial district, where we currently were at. The three of us were wearing trench coats and hats as disguises as we headed toward the warehouse where the Revelation was being held. Mako and Korra were famous and had been in the limelight, so the chances of someone recognizing them were high. I, on the other hand, was a virtual no body, and a non bender to boot, so I could have easily just walked in without a single complaint.

Still, that didn't stop me from looking like something from one of those dime detective novels. As we drew closer, I tugged my fedora down a little lower on my head before sticking my hands in my jacket pockets. Hey, when this was over, maybe I could open a shop as a private eye. I mean I had five hundred years of experience in dealing with the various harshness of life, plus I made this look good.

When we arrived at the location the map had shown us, we ducked into a small alley and looked toward the entrance. There was a rather large man standing in front of the door with his arms folded. Everything about him just screamed bouncer. We watched for about ten minutes as several people went inside.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. We'll split up and head in at different times so we don't draw attention and then regroup on the inside," Mako said.

"Ryou and I will go at the same time so it doesn't take as long," Korra said. Rather then speak up against it, I went along with it. Personally I would have liked to have just gone in by myself, but this was Korra's show so I was following her lead. As we walked toward the bouncer, the Avatar took a moment to loop her arm with mine, making it seem like I was escorting her. I had to admit I was proud. If the bouncer thought we were a couple, we'd be less suspicious to him. She was learning quick how to adapt to all kinds of situations.

"You're learning well," I complemented out the corner of my mouth. Her cap did a decent job of hiding her face, but I didn't doubt for a second that she wasn't blushing.

"This is a private event, no one gets in without an invitation," the bouncer said, holding up his hand to stop us.

"Invitation?" Korra asked, looking at the bouncer and then at me with a cocked eyebrow. He looked at me as well, his expression clearly stating that I should show what he asked for or get lost. I held up one of the fliers between my middle and index finger.

"This?" I asked, handing it to him. He took it and looked it over before giving us a smile and standing aside.

"The Revelation is upon us, my brother and sister," he said. I returned his smile and tipped the brim of my hat to him as we walked in. Hopefully that lug of a firebender was paying attention and wouldn't cause a scene. The inside was dark, and we found ourselves on a balcony overlooking a large wide open area, packed full with a crowd of people easily numbering in the hundreds.

"Wow, I knew a lot of people hated benders, but I've never seen so many in one place," Mako said as he appeared beside us.

"Alright, let's blend in and see if we can find out where Bolin is," I said. We walked down and joined with the crowd. By the time we reached the center of the crowd, some kind of smoke effect was being used up on the stage. Any lights that had been in the place dimmed, turning all attention toward it.

"Please welcome your hero, your savor, AMON!" came the voice of some unseen announcer. In the center of the stage rose a platform carrying seven figures. All of them were wearing the standard Equalist uniforms, while the two in the center were wearing modified versions. It was the one in the very center that held all attention with a hood up and a porcelain mask with a red circle in the center of the forehead covering his face.

This was the great Amon, the man who's likeness we'd seen plastered all over every little bit of Equalist propaganda we had come across. The man himself stepped forward and took a microphone.

"My quest for Equality began many years ago. When I was a boy, I lived on a small farm. We we weren't rich, and none of us were benders," he began. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. If I had known that I was going to have to sit though another sob story about how someone started on their 'noble crusade' or whatever, I would have brought a flask.

Seriously, when you get to be my age, you've pretty much heard them all. I've even considered starting to keep a check list, just to see which of the usual tropes get used the most. Of course, this guy did it all. The typical story about how he'd lost his family and been scarred by a bender and that was why he was on his quest, everything wrong in history was the fault of bending, the Avatar is wrong, blah blah blah.

"Now I'm sure you're all wondering, 'what is the Revelation?', well you are about to get your answer," the masked man said. Finally we were getting to the interesting part.

"Since the beginning of time, the Spirits have acted as the guardians of our world. They have spoken to me, and they say that the Avatar has failed humanity," he said. Korra started forward with her fists balled, but I put a hand on her shoulder and held her back. Now was not the time for her to lose her temper.

"That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. In order to achieve true equality, they have granted me the power take away a person's bending. Permanently," Amon claimed. Shocked and excited whispers ran throughout the crowd. I folded my arms, skeptical at best.

"That's impossible, there's no way," Korra whispered.

"This guy is insane," Mako replied.

"And now for a demonstration. Please welcome Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City," Amon said, sweeping his arm to the side where two Equalists led a tied up man with gray hair. Behind them, another line of men, all of varying ages and restrained with rope, were forced to kneel.

At the very end of the line up was a young man in his late teens with black hair and green eyes. He looked absolutely terrified as he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"There's Bolin," Korra said. Oh great, we were here to rescue the one that looked like he was a jump scare away from pissing himself.

"Zolt has amassed a fortune extorting from the good people of Republic City. Now, in the interest of fairness, I will give him a chance to fight to keep his bending," Amon said as Zolt's restraints were removed.

"You're gonna regret doin that, pal!" Zolt shouted before he began to shoot fireballs at him. I had to admit, the man had skill with the way he moved. Not a single bolt made contact as he got closer to his target. At the last second, Zolt unleashed the skill that had earned him his nickname, firing a powerful bolt of lightning at the Equalist leader.

But Amon was quick, much quicker then the Triad leader had accounted for. He ducked beneath the firebender's outstretched arm, grabbing it and twisting him around so that he was kneeling with his back to him. Then, he raised his free hand and pressed his thumb into the middle of Zolt's forehead.

The bolt of lightning that had been flaring all over the place like an out of control light show devolved into a massive gout of fire. After another moment, the flames fizzled out all together, and Amon released his grip on the Triad leader. Zolt fell forward onto his hands and knees. He pushed himself up and threw his fist out, trying to blast Amon at point blank range. But nothing came out, and he fell back to his knees in a weakened state.

"What..what did you do to me?" Zolt asked.

"Your firebending is gone. Forever," Amon said before he turned back to the crowd, "The era of bending is over, a new era of Equality has begun!" People roared in approval as Amon turned his attention to the other Triad members. Mako and Korra began to discuss how they were going to get to Bolin. I, on the other hand, was watching this masked man's every move with my arms folded and my fingers curled up next to my lips in thought.

I was using every single one of my years of experience to figure out what exactly was going on here. The position Amon was using suggested that he was using energybending, but I quickly ruled that out as energybending had a glow to it. The only other way to disable a person's bending was to scramble the chi pathways in their bodies. Whatever technique he was using still allowed for the person to move around unrestricted, so it wasn't chi blocking. That meant he was manipulating the chakras in some way, probably through water or bloodbending.

"Ryou, are you listening?" Korra asked, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to the situation at hand.

"No. What's going on?" I asked.

"We need to get to Bolin, and fast, but we have no way of getting him away from all these people," Mako said. I turned my attention to Korra.

"Think tactically. What's the first thing you do when a numerically superior force is baring down on you?" I asked. The Avatar's eyebrows came together in the center of her forehead as she thought back over her lessons.

"You blind them," she said, her eyes growing in realization.

"Those machines are powered by water and steam," Mako said, motioning to the wall behind me, "if Korra can make a cloud big enough, I can get Bolin."

"Let's go before we think too much," I said, and with that we split up. I went with Korra, snaking our way through the crowd to the far wall. We slipped into a side hallway away from the crowd and came across some pipes and valves. Without a second thought, she began to spin one of the valves, releasing a jet of steam into the air.

"That's not enough," she said before she began to turn another.

"How much do you need?" I asked.

"A decent sized cloud, enough to fill the hallway halfway," she answered. I drew my sword hilt from beneath my coat and extended the blade. With a quick twirl and then strike, I sliced through all the pipes, allowing steam to burst into the hallway with us.

"What are you two doing back here?" It was the bouncer from the door, and he didn't look very happy. Before Korra could speak, I stepped forward, placing myself between him and her.

"This is your only warning. Go and act like you didn't see us," I warned. Now I stand at about six foot even, but this guy had at least a head in height and a hundred pounds in muscle build on me. My warning must have fallen on deaf ears, as he drew a wrench from his belt and swung it at my head.

I ducked, allowing the tool to sail over my head and smash into the pipes I had just cut. They were dislodged from their place, allowing a steadier flow of steam into the hall. With his arm still extended, I brought my sword up, cutting the hand that was holding the wrench clean off. Before he could react, or even scream I was upon him, my left hand clamping down over his mouth.

The sudden shift in weight caused him to fall onto his back, and the momentum carried my sword point forward into his throat. He struggled a little, a gurgling sound escaping from beneath my hand as he drowned in his own blood. After a moment his eyes rolled back and his struggling ceased. I yanked my sword free of him before closing his eyes with my spare hand.

"You should have listened to me and just walked away," I whispered to his body before standing. Korra was looking on, her eyes wide with horror. I couldn't blame her, I'd had a similar look the first time I'd witnessed death. But, we were still on a time limit.

"Korra, we need to finish the job," I reminded her. She blinked and looked away from the body as my words registered.

"Um, right," she said before assuming a bending stance. She bent the steam in the air around her, causing it to twist around her body like a flying snake. Then she threw her hand forward, and the machine on the far side of the wall exploded. The crowd began to scream and panic as the whole building was flooded with steam.

We began to run, twisting through the confusing corridors as we looked for both a way out and the brothers. As we went, Korra shed her coat and hat, clearly not liking being in disguise. Suddenly, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I turned and dropped, extending my leg so that I tripped Korra as well.

The Avatar fell and landed face first, but the tip of her back ponytail was sliced off by the blade that passed through the air where her head had been just a moment earlier. I brought my sword up and caught two blades in a lock. For the first time I got a good look at our attacker.

It was a woman, wearing a modified Equalist uniform and holding a pair of ninjato. A scarf covered the lower half of her face from her nose down. Her skin was a pale color, and her eyes were an emerald green, her hair was a fiery red color and pulled back into a top knot. I cocked my head to the side as I studied her. She seemed familiar somehow.

Suddenly the woman ducked as a blast of fire sailed over her head, breaking the blade lock with me. Korra came after her, blasting fire as she went. The woman was acrobatic, performing back flips and cartwheels as she dodged Korra's attacks. At the last second, she suddenly changed directions, bringing her swords forward and intending to run Korra through.

I was between them in the blink of an eye, bringing my own sword up to off set her. She reeled back from the strike, and I pressed the attack, bringing my sword down with the intention of burying it in her skull. But she quickly countered, bringing both of her swords up in a crossed fashion in order to catch mine.

She kicked out with her foot, striking me in the stomach and causing me to stagger. Going on the offensive again, she swung her blades upward, intending to remove my head from it's perch atop my shoulders. I ducked, feeling the wind from the blades as the passed less then a breath away. My own sword came up with an upward slice, forcing her to lean back in order to dodge it.

The tip managed to catch onto her makeshift mask, however, slicing it and yanking it free. Her mask fell away, revealing the entirety of her face. I was up with my blade held at the ready when I finally got a good look at her, and I froze in place. Now I knew why she seemed familiar, it was because she was familiar. Images flashed in my mind, events that had long since past.

"Takeko," I breathed, stunned. Her eyes went wide as she realized that I knew her name. She wasted no time, reaching down to her belt and producing a smoke grenade and pulling the pin. The canister went off, allowing her to vanish in a cloud of smoke and steam mixture.

"We need to go," Korra reminded as I stood there, staring after the woman who had just left. I nodded, snapping myself out of the trance and running with her. We finally found a side exit which let out into an alley, along with Mako and Bolin. The brothers were on the ground, having been electrocuted by a man holding a pair of electrified batons.

"You benders need to understand, there's no place for you in the world anymore," the man said. Korra responded by bending a pillar of earth beneath his feet, launching him into the far wall of the alley.

"I wouldn't count us out just yet," she said as he landed face down. We quickly got the brothers to their feet and began to run. Several Equalists began to swarm the alleyway, descending upon us like a human wave.

"The Avatar, that's her!" the man Korra had launched shouted, pointing toward us. I stopped and turned, facing the oncoming wave with my blade at the ready. Winning wasn't going to happen, I knew that just by glancing at the situation. But I knew I could slow them down long enough for Korra and the others to get away. And I might just take enough of them with me to break the back of this so called Revolution.

"Let them go!" a commanding voice called. We all looked up to find Amon standing on a balcony overhead with his arms clasped behind his back. The Equalists all came to a halt, staring at us from behind their gas masks. I retreated with the others, keeping my sword up and not daring to turn my back. Once we were a safe distance away, we turned and ran, and we didn't stop until we got back to the Pro Bending Arena.

* * *

"So you're the Ryou Korra talks about so much," Bolin said. We were sitting in the brothers' apartment above the Arena. I had removed the jacket and fedora disguise, and was currently wiping my sword down. It was custom for me to clean and inspect a weapon after a fight. Leaving blood on it while it was collapsed into the hilt would cause the mechanisms and blade itself to rust.

"Is there another?" I asked, directing the question both at him and Korra.

"Its just that, after everything I've heard I was expecting you to be...well..."

"Older? Taller? More handsome?" I supplied.

"All of the above," he said. I smirked as I collapsed the blade and returned the hilt to my belt. My youthful appearance was both a blessing and a curse, depending on the situation and my mood.

"He claims that he's five hundred years old," Mako said from across the room. Bolin looked at his brother and then back at Korra and me with a look of disbelief. This slowly faded when he realized that none of us were laughing about it.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, I still have a hard time believing it, bro," Mako said.

"Is it true? How do you do it? What's your work out routine? Your diet? I need to know, man!" Bolin said, firing off rapid questions and leaning further and further into my personal space as he went.

"You see, this is why I don't like telling people," I said to Korra as I place three fingers in the middle of the earthbender's forehead and pushed him back. She simply snickered in response and I turned my focus back to Bolin.

"Look, I'm not telling tonight, we've been through a lot, and we got a lot of other stuff to talk about," I said.

"Right. That woman, how do you know her?" Korra asked.

"What woman?" Mako asked.

"There was this red haired woman that attacked us right after I set off the steam blast. Ryou made it seem like he knew her," Korra explained.

"I do know her. Well, not on a personal level, but I do know her," I said.

"How?"

"Takeko was...an adversary at one point. I thought she was dead, which is why I was surprised to see her tonight," I said. Korra narrowed her eyes at me. Clearly she knew that I wasn't telling everything, but she didn't press the matter.

"So Ryou, have you seen anything like tonight before?" Mako asked. I cupped my chin in thought.

"Not exactly like it, no. I sure don't by the Spirit back story," I said.

"Really? It seemed pretty realistic to me," Bolin said.

"Let's just say I've had experience with Spirits before, and he doesn't really have the signs," I said, rubbing my Mark absentmindedly.

"So what do you think it is?" Korra asked.

"I'm not sure. I've got some research to do. Speaking of which, we should get back to Air Temple Island and tell Tenzin about this," I said. The others nodded tiredly in agreement. It was getting late, and we were all exhausted. We bade the brothers farewell before we began the long trip back to the Island.

"How do you know that woman?" Korra asked after we had walked a short distance. I sighed, knowing that there was no way I was going to get out of this.

"Takeko Nakano was once known by another title, the Red Archer," I said.

"The Red Archer? Where have I heard that?" she asked.

"The Red Archer was the best archer in the Fire Nation Army during the War," I said. Korra came to a complete halt as my words registered in her mind.

"Wait, are you saying this woman was alive during the Hundred Year War?"

"Now you get why I wasn't overly eager to talk about her more," I said.

"Do you think she's like you?" I was silent for the longest time as we walked. Part of me was thrilled at the concept of not being alone after all this time. The other part was now deeply concerned regarding the fact that she was with the Equalists.

"I don't know. I've got a lot of digging to do," I answered.

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter. What do you guys think about these new developments? Let me know. Drop a review, leave a PM, ask a question or ten, and I'll see you all next time.**


	9. Voices in the Dark

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. As of the posting of this, we've broken a hundred followers. Again, as always, I cannot thank you guys enough for your support. And now, on with the show:**

 _Ash and embers fell from the night sky like orange and gray snow. All around them fires burned, illuminating the darkness. Several soldiers wearing Earth Kingdom uniforms were crouched in the ruins of a small town. Large fireballs rained down from several directions, shifting the shadows about as their fiery trails arced through the night._

 _This town was located about half way between the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se and the large river that connected the Eastern Lake to the Sea. As the siege of the walled city had raged, the forces of the Fire Nation had slowly spread out, pushing back Earth Kingdom forces on the outside of the wall. The group within the town was all that was left of their battalion. They had been cut off by the enemy, and were now surrounded and under constant attack._

 _Standing in the center of it all was a tall man with a katana sheath on his hip. The sword itself was long gone, snapped and lost in an earlier skirmish. He was wearing an Earth Kingdom uniform like the others. He was covered in mud and filth, yet he stood defiant against the onslaught he was faced with._

 _"_ _Sergeant, I have the count. We have a hundred and eighteen men left. And those are the ones that can still walk," a private reported. A roar filled the air as a fireball passed overhead and smashed into what was left of a shop, igniting the ruin in a fiery explosion._

 _"_ _The men are talking about giving up. We're cut off, and they're going to kill us all if we don't," the private continued._

 _"_ _It's always the darkest before the dawn, Wai," the sergeant replied._

 _"_ _Sarge, you saw the message. Command is focusing all their resources on defending the gap in the Wall, they're not going to send any troops to help us."_

 _"_ _Do you know how long this Siege has been going on?" the sergeant asked. The private looked up at his superior with a confused expression. Nearby another fireball came down, this time smashing a cart._

 _"_ _I..I don't..."_

 _"_ _Five Hundred and Ninety Four days. That's how long we've been under attack. And that's how long we've waited for this moment."_

 _"_ _Moment? Sarge, we're surrounded! All the officers are dead! How is this a moment we've been waiting for?"_

 _"_ _Because we finally have the chance to deal the enemy's command structure a crippling blow," the sergeant replied as he pointed toward a large gap in the Fire Nation lines. The private, along with several other soldiers who had been taking cover nearby, looked toward where he was pointing. A small cluster of ornate tents had been set up, illuminated by torches around them._

 _"_ _What is that?"_

 _"_ _That is a command tent of a very high ranking officer."_

 _"_ _A General? What gives? No one higher then a Colonel has been seen anywhere near the front lines since this whole thing started," a different soldier said._

 _"_ _The Fire Nation has breached the Outer Wall. That means they've tasted victory, and their command structure is getting restless. Whomever that is, they want to oversee our final destruction personally," the Sergeant said._

 _"_ _And how does this help us?" the Private asked._

 _"_ _Not only is that the command post, it's also the weakest part of the Fire Nation line. If we attack there, we can manage a break out," came the answer._

 _"_ _A break out? Are you serious?" a nearby Corporal asked._

 _"_ _Way I see it, we got two options. We can sit hear on our asses and wait to be incinerated or captured, and never see our families again," he said before grabbing an E tool out of the mud next to his feet, "or you can follow me into the breach one last time." The men all looked at each other. For a moment, there was only silence, all with the crackle of flames and roar of incoming fireballs. Eventually, they all nodded in an unspoken agreement._

 _"_ _We'll follow you to hell, Sergeant Ryou," the Private said._

I opened my eyes, finding myself staring up at the dark ceiling above. It was still dark out, which meant that I wasn't going to get the full nights rest like I was hoping. Not that I wanted to go back to sleep at this point. The night that had been replayed in my dream was one of the most brutal I've ever experienced in my life.

I can still see it all as if it had all happened yesterday. We'd charged the command tent head on, forcing the Fire Nation troops to retreat. Only the commanding officer, a young man with a pale complexion, black hair, and amber eyes, had stood his ground against us. Despite the fact that he was a bender, he'd drawn a sword and cut down anyone who came near him.

Taking a shuttering breath, I pulled my knees into my chest as my mind played out what had happened next against my will.

 _"_ _For the glory of our nation, I will not bow to you!" the commanding officer screamed. He brought down his sword, a highly decorated jian, and buried it in the shoulder of an Earth Kingdom trooper. He quickly yanked the blade free before turning and slicing another soldier as he ran past. The trooper, a kid no older then eighteen, fell to the ground while trying to keep his guts from spilling all over the place._

 _At that moment, Ryou slammed into the officer, knocking both of them off balance. But the officer, highly trained and skilled, was on his feet again, swinging his sword at his attacker. Ryou slapped the blade away with his shovel and wasted no time, grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the officer's sword and struggling with him for control._

 _They wrestled back and forth, neither one managing to get an upper hand. Until, finally, Ryou managed to shove the officer backward. The sword flew from both of their grips, sticking into the mud a short distance away. Wasting no time, the soldier came forward and swung downward with a hacking motion, burring the blade of the shovel into the area where the officer's neck met his shoulder._

 _Blood sprayed as muscle and artery were severed, and the officer cried out in pain. He stumbled a few steps backwards almost as if he was in a daze. He reached up and grasped the handle of the E Tool, weakly tugging at it and trying to pull it out. Ryou recovered the officer's lost sword before approaching the man and gripping him on the unwounded shoulder._

 _"_ _For freedom," he hissed before plunging the sword into his throat, ending the officer's suffering then and there._

I can still hear the screams of the wounded, the dying. The one hundred and eighteen men that had charged the Fire Nation lines that night were later referred to as the Lost Battalion because we'd been cut off and assumed lost by our superiors. By attacking and overwhelming that command post, we'd broken through the Fire Nation lines and were able to reunite with Earth Kingdom forces.

We were hailed as brave heroes and used as propaganda tools to try and boost moral amongst the armies. It wasn't really needed in the long run. Six days later, the Siege of Ba Sing Se ended, and the heroes of the Lost Battalion were shifted about and sent back into the meat grinder. By the time the war ended six years afterward, virtually all of them had been killed in brutal front line combat.

It wasn't until later that I learned that the officer I had killed wasn't really an officer at all. He was a Prince. Prince Lu Ten had been his name. His father was General Iroh, the very man who had led the Fire Nation forces during the Siege. The official story was that when Iroh had pulled back his forces six days after his son's death, it was because the men were over extended, exhausted, and could not hold the ground that they had taken. Anyone with half a brain could see that the real reason was because Iroh had lost the will to fight after his son died.

When I formally met the General himself some years later at the end of the war, I'd begged for his forgiveness in my actions. To my surprise, Iroh held no ill feelings toward me despite what I had done. To him, his son had died with honor and I was an honorable man because I took no joy in carrying out the harshness of war and sought forgiveness because of it.

Getting up, I slipped out of my room and went for a walk. I didn't bother putting shoes on, and soon found myself standing outside in only a pair of shorts and a t shirt. It was cool out, despite it being relatively calm and clear. The golden glow of the city reflected up into the sky, blocking out many of the stars and making me frown.

I loved astronomy. The stars and constellations were not only dazzling to look at, they also told stories. Some of them had changed a little over the centuries, but the vast majority were still the same now as they where when I had been a kid. It made me miss the open road, where I could look up and see all the starts In their shining glory without too much light blotting out any detail.

"Can't sleep either?" It was Korra. Her hair was down and she was barefoot. I took a moment to actually admire the way my student looked with her hair down in the moonlight. It was actually a look that suited her.

"Yeah," I replied.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Tenzin is always saying that it's best to open up about what bothers us," she said.

"Yeah, no surprise there," I grunted. She stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You know you can talk to me," she said, trying to get me to open up. I would have, I was tempted to. But there were things that she was simply not ready for. Things that were quite literally the stuff of nightmares.

"I could say the same to you. Amon's the reason you're up, isn't he?" I asked.

"I'm not afraid of him!" she snapped a little too quickly. I just gave her a small smile.

"I never said anything about being afraid," I said. She glared at me, but I just continued to smile at her. With that, I began to turn away and head back to my room.

"Fear is a natural reaction, Korra. Like any other emotion, it lets you know you're alive, and it's your body's natural way of staying like that," I said over my shoulder. With that, I left her on her own. She and I would talk when we were both ready.

* * *

I walked along the street, my hands in my pockets as I went. The noise of the city served as a dull drone that was almost lulling in nature. I'd just needed to get off the Island and do my own thing for a moment. A small cafe along the waterfront caught my eye, and I took a seat at one of the tables that had sitting out front. With winter coming, it was nice just to sit and enjoy this before the cold settled in.

"What can I get..." the waitress that appeared said before freezing like a catdeer in the headlights. She may not have been wearing the uniform, but I'd recognize Takeko anywhere. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a white shirt, gray trousers, and an apron. She looked like she had been frozen in time with her small notepad and pen still at the ready to take my order.

"Two teas, please. One without sweetener or lemon, and the other can have whatever you choose," I replied. Now don't get me wrong, I was just as stunned as she was to see her here. But I figured that flat out attacking her and demanding answers wasn't going to get me anywhere. I was already on bad terms with Lin. What was I gonna say when the cops showed up? This woman was possibly an immortal and I wanted answers from her? Yeah, that was a ticket straight to the insane asylum.

"Um, right," she said as she finally got over her shock and realized that I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it if she didn't. With that, she turned away and went back into the shop in order to get the drinks. I sat back in my seat and placed my sword hilt on my lap. Just because I wasn't going to start anything didn't mean that she wasn't going to either. And in all my years, I've learned to be prepared for the unexpected.

Takeko came back with the drinks and sat them on the table. I motioned to the seat on the far side from me, and she sank into it with a nervous, uncomfortable look on her face. I picked up the cup that was closest to me and took a deep sniff and swirled the drink around a little. To someone passing on the street, it would look like I was a taste tester of some sort trying out a new product. In reality, I was checking for poison. I was having a drink with one of the most renowned operatives in history, after all.

"So who talks first?" she asked when the silence became too much for her to handle. Satisfied that she wasn't attempting to poison me, I took a sip of my drink before setting the cup back down on the table.

"Why don't we get right to the point, shall we?"

"Look, I know we had a...disagreement the other night, but I was just following orders and..."

"I don't care about your association with Amon, Takeko," I interrupted. She blinked and then frowned at my use of her name.

"I haven't...how do you know that name?" she asked.

"The other night wasn't the first time we had met," I said.

"When did we?"

"I want you to think back. Way back," I said before leaning forward slightly, "to be exact, I want you to think back to the night Prince Lu Ten died." Her eyes went wide, and she made a grab for a knife that was sitting on the table. My hand appeared on top of hers, pinning it to the table and keeping her from going any further.

"It's you...that soldier...it's you," she said, not believing her eyes.

"It's me," I answered, confirming it for her.

"How? How are you alive?"

"I could ask the same of you." She sat back in her seat, contemplating on how to answer me.

"After the Siege ended, I was cast out of the Army for failure to protect a member of the Royal Family. I was able to find work as a mercenary for a while, but when the war ended business dried up. Then, he came to me and offered me a new purpose," she said.

"He?"

"My Master. He showed me the truth about the world and the way things are. In return for my loyalty, he took me to a spring located high in the mountains. It stopped me from aging all these years," she explained. I sat there, thinking about what she had said. If it was true, it meant that the legends I had heard over the years were true. But there was something else in her words, something that gave me pause.

"Who is this Master of yours? Amon?" I asked.

"No. Amon is just a means to an end at the moment," she replied.

"And what, pray tell, is your Master's agenda?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that." This was the response I was expecting. Takeko was a professional, and I was an old adversary to boot. It could be considered a miracle that I had gotten what I had out of her. On that note, I finished my tea before standing and setting a wad of yuans on the table.

"I've got the bill," I said. The former archer had a stunned look, clearly not expecting this.

"Wait...that's it? You're not going to ask more questions?" she asked.

"You and I both know how well that's going to turn out. I think it's best we leave it here. Until we meet again, Takeko," I replied, leaving her in a shocked silence. If things turned out how they usually did with me, I didn't have a doubt I'd be encountering her again before this whole thing was over.

Walking off, I took a different turn rather then heading back to the Island. I just walked, my feet seeming to have a mind of their own as I went. Eventually I found myself at a small graveyard. It seemed out of place, like a large lot that was undeveloped tucked between two buildings with a rot iron fence guarding the space before it.

Standing in the center of the headstones was a man. He was wearing a brown bowler hat, black jacket, and matching trousers. This, combined with the fact that he standing next to an open grave with a shovel, gave me the impression that he was the undertaker. I was going to keep walking and just leave the man be. He appeared to be busy, and I would have rather been by myself at that moment anyway.

"Old age does not suit you, Wanderer. You continue to waste your talents and gifts, when it could make your life so much easier," he said without turning to look at me. I froze. That voice, I knew that voice. Although I hadn't heard it in person for over a hundred years, it still managed to haunt my nightmares from time to time.

Turning, the Observer motioned for me to come closer. The only thing that had changed about his appearance was his clothing. Everything else had remained the same. I took a few steps closer, cautious about this meeting.

"You don't trust me," he said. It wasn't a question, just a statement.

"I've read up on you. I know what happens to those who bear your Mark," I replied.

"Ah yes, I suspected as much."

"So what do I call you? Observer, or Collector?" I asked.

"You mistake my collection for being something malevolent," he said, "It's true that I take the souls of those I've given my Mark into the Void, but not for the reason you think."

"Are you going to bother to explain, or are you going to be like all Spirits and be vague as shit about it?" I asked.

"Those who receive my Mark are catalysis for change. Be it good or bad, I leave the choice up to them. But regardless of what they chose, they have already had their fate sealed. Their are other ancient Spirits who frown upon this, and as a result they condemn all those who bear my Mark to be cast into the Fog of Lost Souls," he explained. I'd heard about this Fog before. It was a mist filled valley located in the Spirit World that trapped mortals within it, driving them mad with their darkest fears and memories. In other words, it was the closest thing mortals had ever found to an actual Hell.

"So you collecting the souls is your way of saving them," I deduced.

"In a manner of speaking. I don't just do this out of the kindness of my heart. You all have a purpose."

"What purpose could we possibly have other then entertainment? You're called the Observer, after all, all you do is just watch."

"You will know, in time. For now, focus on the events happening in this realm. Things are about to get interesting. So I suggest that you put my gifts to you to some good use," he said. I rubbed the Mark absentmindedly, extremely hesitant on taking his advice. Not because I didn't trust him...no wait, that was the exact reason. I didn't trust him, full stop.

"You don't have to trust me," he said as if reading my thoughts, "as I told you all those years ago, the gifts are yours to do with as you choose. You have them, it would make your life easier if you used them. And remember, it doesn't matter if you use them or not. One day, the shadows will surround you." And with that, he vanished, leaving a shovel stuck into the ground with a bowler hat hanging off of it in his place.

* * *

I was sitting in the Island's library for what must have been the tenth time that week. Scattered out on the desk before me were several old scrolls and manuscripts, many of them just as old if not older then I was. During my search, I had come across references to what I assumed Takeko was talking about.

Hidden somewhere in the Northern Mountains was a spring of Spirit Water that was so potent that it not only healed, but restored youth and added longevity to those who drank from it. Supposedly there was a monastery that had been established nearby, and a group of monks living there had dedicated themselves to protecting the spring from those who would want to abuse its use.

Takeko's Master, on the other hand, turned up nothing but dead ends. Whomever he was, they had been very, very careful to hide their footprint on history. Assuming that they were an immortal as well. I knew absolutely nothing about this person, other then they viewed Amon as a means to an end. That fact in and of itself could be good or bad, depending on the situation. Knowing my luck, it would probably be the latter.

The sound of a throat being cleared caused me to look up from my reading. Tenzin was standing a short distance away, a stressed look on his face. This was the first time someone had actually seemed to come looking for me, so I figured something must have gone wrong.

"Oh, Tenzin. What is it? You look troubled," I said.

"Korra has issued a public challenge to Amon. She's going to face him on Aang Memorial Island tonight at midnight," he said. I stopped what I was doing and repeated what he had just said in my head again. Korra was challenging Amon? What had I missed this week?

"Why did no one come to me sooner?" I demanded as I sprung to my feet. I mean sure, I had pretty much barricaded myself in the library for my research, but I hadn't given anyone any kind of instruction to leave me be.

"Korra felt that it was best that you be left to your research," Tenzin answered. I didn't know who I wanted to throttle more, Korra for purposely keeping me in the dark, or Tenzin who absolutely knew better then to do so. Honestly I could only hope that Amon or someone I didn't like showed up tonight, cause frankly someone was going to get the shit kicked out of them for this.

Ensuring that my sword hilt was attached to my belt, I grabbed my hooded jacket and made my way toward the docks, leaving Tenzin in a cold silence. It wasn't that hard to figure out why Korra was doing this. She was stubborn in trying to prove that she wasn't afraid of Amon. Someone must have called her out on it in a public place, which forced her into issuing her challenge. Just because she had managed to take on a few Triads and had helped stave off a sea monster didn't mean she was ready for something of this caliber. The girl was a fool if she thought otherwise.

I took a small rowboat and began to make my way toward the other Island. The craft was small and quiet enough that no one would notice it approaching, which was what I was relying on. It would be best if no one knew I was there, not until I absolutely needed to reveal myself.

About eleven pm is when Korra arrived. She positioned herself on top of the clock built into the statue's base, looking out toward the illuminated pillars of the downtown. Just looking at her gave me frustration. She hadn't even bothered to try and arm herself, even after she had seen first hand what Amon was capable of.

As I watched, I realized that she hadn't completely abandoned my training. She was using breathing techniques I had taught her in order to help control her fear and focus her mind on the task at hand. Still, that didn't mean she had completely conquered her fear, as was evident when she jumped about a foot off the ground when the clock struck midnight.

Realizing that it was just the clock, Korra took a breath to steady her nerves and then assumed a bending position, waiting for Amon to arrive. I waited as well with baited breath, curious to see if the masked leader would arrive or not. He was charismatic, a showman preforming for a crowd. There was no way he was going to turn down a challenge like this, not without it hurting his image. Korra stood there waiting for almost a half hour before she finally realized that no one was coming.

"Guess your a no show, Amon. Who's the coward now?" she asked out loud. I fought the urge to come out of hiding and just flat out pelt her into the ground. That statement right there proved what I had been saying all along, and the foolish girl had let her emotions cloud her judgment and then dived into this headfirst without a second thought.

She began to walk away, heading back to the boat she had taken to get here. While doing so, she completely let her guard down, as she now believed she was the only person on the island. I saw the ambush coming long before it happened. I could have easily stepped in and stopped it, or spoken up and warned her. But if she was being this reckless, she deserved what happened came next, if not to teacher her a lesson about the future.

As she walked past the dark entrance to the museum that was housed in the base of the statue, a bola flew out of the shadows and ensnared her feet, tripping her up and dropping her to the ground. Before she could react, the rope attached to the bola went taunt, and the Avatar was dragged feet first into the darkness.

I slipped forward and slid into the entrance as well, using the darkness to hide my presence. Korra quickly used her firebending to incinerate the rope that was binding her feet together. The light from the flames briefly illuminated the room, showing that she was entirely surrounded by Equalists. She never stood a chance, as she was entrapped by bolas and chi blocked before she could really do anything to defend herself.

After a few moments, a lamp was lit, illuminating the area around Korra. Two Equalists had her by the arms, forcing her up onto her knees. Amon himself stepped into the small circle of light. Korra tried to struggle against her captors and break free, but it was of no use.

"I received your invitation, young Avatar," the masked man said. Korra's eyes grew wide with fear as he stretched out a hand toward her. I had my sword hilt in my hand, ready to spring forward should the need arise. For a moment, it looked like he was going to take her bending. She looked away, but he gripped her by the chin and forced her to look back at him.

"Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. It would be the easiest thing to just take your bending now, but I won't. You'd just become a martyr, and benders of all nations would rally to your cause. No, I have a plan. And I'm going to save you for last. And then, and only then, will I destroy you," he said before he delivered a quick jab, knocking her out cold.

By now I had seen enough. Amon was a showman, nothing more. He was using fear as a weapon against Korra, and by extension other benders. He knew that if he could keep Korra stewing, she wouldn't be at her strongest both physically and mentally. And if he could achieve that, then he stood a chance of winning against her.

Well, two could play at that game.

Raising my hood, I stepped forward so that the door was to my back and only my silhouette was visible to anyone who was standing further then five feet away. The sound of my sword blade extending was enough to catch Amon's attention. He looked away from the Avatar to me, but his mask hid any facial expression, making it impossible to tell if I had startled him.

"You claim that the Spirits chose you. Let's see if that holds true," I said.

"Deal with him," Amon ordered. His foot soldiers began to advance on me, twirling their bolas as they came. I glanced down at my hand where my Mark was and let out a soft sigh. The Observer had been right, it didn't matter if I refused to use his gifts or not. My fate would be the same regardless.

One day, the shadows would surround me.

Looking to a dark corner of the room, I blinked and was there in an instant. The darkness hid me from the Equalists, who were looking around in confusion. I climbed on top of a display and crouched, waiting for the right moment. One of the Equalists was a few steps ahead of the others, separating himself from the rest of the group.

"Where'd he go?" he asked. I jumped from the display and activated my gift again. I reappeared right above him, slicing downward and removing his head from his shoulders before blinking again, appearing right in front of another foot soldier. I sliced him across his stomach and side before reversing my swing and stabbing him through the back. Then I blinked again, appearing behind the next Equalist and running him through with my sword. As I yanked my blade free, I blinked back into the shadows and watched the chaos unfold.

This had all happened in less then thirty seconds. The surviving Equalists could only watch in horror as their comrades' lifeless bodies fell to the floor. They clustered together and formed a semi circle with Amon behind them, determined to defend their leader against this new threat.

"What manner of trickery is this?" Amon asked. I jumped and blinked again, appearing before the Equalist that formed the point of their formation. My momentum carried my sword blade through his chest. I yanked my blade free of the falling man and was up again in an instant, stabbing the man to my left before twirling my sword once and reversing my swing, decapitating the woman on my right.

I blinked again and was on top of Amon, pushing the masked man down onto his back while I had my sword raised, ready to stab through one of his mask's eye holes and end his life right then and there. But I didn't, for the same reason he had spared Korra. If he died now, while his Revolution was gaining steam, his followers would just use him as a martyr, an image to rally behind.

"Know fear," I hissed in warning before blinking again, disappearing back into the shadows. The few surviving Equalists retreated to their leader, who wisely chose that moment to leave. They retreated into the shadows, leaving both Korra and their dead behind. I waited for several moments until I was sure that they were gone.

With that, I collapsed my sword and hurried to Korra's side. Thankfully she was unharmed. Although I don't know if that would still hold true if she woke up surrounded by dismembered corpses. Picking her up bridal style, I carried her out of the museum and toward the boat I had brought here. She slowly came to as we got close to the shoreline.

"Ryou?"

"It's me."

"How did...wait, where's?"

"He's gone. You're safe now," I reassured as I stopped and set her down.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"Tenzin told me. What were you thinking, setting something up like this without any back up?" I demanded. She looked away, ashamed.

"I thought I could handle him if it was just us, one on one," she answered.

"And what, pray tell, made you think he'd fight the most powerful bender on the planet one on one in a fair fight?" I asked. She didn't answer, or even so much as look at me. I lowered my hood and gently brushed against her cheek so that she was looking at me. Her blue eyes looked up at me, threatening to spill tears.

Finally, she broke down and launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and buried her face into my chest. I took a half step back in order to balance myself and catch her. With that done, and my very brief moment of being stunned passing, I wrapped my arms around her and held her as she sobbed.

"You were right. I am afraid, I have been since the beginning," she confessed.

"Those who claim not to feel fear are either lying or foolish," I said, "even at my age, I still feel it. It's a natural emotion."

"But I can't be afraid of him. If I'm going to beat him, I need to be able to face him."

"Being brave does not mean you face something because you are unafraid of it. It means you face it regardless if you are afraid."

"How? How do I do this?" she asked, pulling back and looking up at me, her eyes shining in the moonlight with tears. I used my thumb to wipe them away before cupping her cheek, keeping her eyes locked with mine.

"With more time and training, you will be ready. And the next time you face him, you won't be alone," I replied. It was at this moment that I realized our close proximity, and Korra did the same. But rather then doing what she usually did and breaking away out of embarrassment, she did something totally different.

She brought her hand up, gently gripped the back of my head, closed her eyes, and pulled me down into a kiss.

Maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was the stress, maybe it was her feelings that I had up until now dismissed as a childish crush boiling over. I didn't know, and at the moment I didn't care. To be honest, I couldn't even form a coherent thought. Rather then bring it to an end, I decided to go with it. Tomorrow's problems would be dealt with tomorrow. For now, it was just her and I.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me, deepening the kiss. She seemed to like this and hummed in approval. Finally, we broke apart, if only for the need to breathe.

"Let's go home," I said. She nodded. Her face was red, but there was a small smile there as well. Maybe this wasn't a good idea in the long run, or maybe it was.

Only time would tell.

 **And cut. More about Ryou and Takeko's past has been reviled. What do you think about these revelations? Or the developments between Ryou and Korra? Let me know. Drop a review, leave a PM, don't hesitate to ask a question or ten, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	10. State of Change

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Chapter ten, a mile stone. As of the posting of this chapter, Ageless has taken the spot of the most popular story I've ever written. As usual, I cannot thank you enough for your support. And with that, on with the chapter:**

 _A light snowfall fell upon Makapu Village. The small village had prospered some since the Hundred Year War had ended at the end of the previous summer. The village fortuneteller, known affectionately as Aunt Wu, was standing in front of her salon, watching as the flakes fell. Before her, on the edge of the village itself was a massive wall of dark rock. This was from the previous year, when the volcano that gave the village its name had erupted. Avatar Aang had saved the village by halting the lava flow and creating this wall as a result._

 _The entire village had been grateful and had repaid the Avatar and his friends by resupplying them on their trip. They had been rewarded with the end of the War the following summer. Now, it seemed that a bight, if not uncertain future lay ahead of them. Wu, in all her years, had never seen a time such as now. A time of hope, and yet a time of uncertainty._

 _Looking up, she noticed a young man passing by. He was wearing a dark shirt and trousers, had a pack slung over his shoulder and a katana rested on his hip. She had never seen him before, and he looked as though he had been on the road for a long time._

 _"You there, Ronin, might I offer you a free fortune?" she called. The young man stopped and looked around. When he realized that he was indeed the one she was talking to, he made his way over to her._

 _"Ronin?" he asked._

 _"You are a warrior, are you not?" Wu asked, motioning toward his sword. He rested his hand on the hilt in a relaxed manner, clearly showing no intent to draw._

 _"Something like that. I'm on business, so the term doesn't really apply," he answered._

 _"All the same, my offer still stands. People come from all over just to have me read their fortunes. They are never wrong," Wu said. The young man remained silent for a moment as he pondered his options._

 _"I have some time to kill. Might as well," he finally said. Wu smiled and motioned for him to come inside. She led him into a back room where a small fire pit burned._

 _"Pick one," she instructed, motioning toward a small pile of bones. The young man picked one from the top of the pile and placed it into Wu's outstretched hand. The fortuneteller tossed it into the flames and watched as cracks began to spread over the bone from the heat. He watched as a frown came over the elderly woman's face. The frown only deepened as the cracks continued._

 _"What is it?" he asked._

 _"I..have never seen this in person before. There are so many readings, it's almost impossible to get them all," she said._

 _"Meaning?"_

 _"You will have a long life. One so long that it is almost impossible to see the end," she said in amazement. The young man, however, remained unfazed, as if he was expecting something like this._

 _"What else?" Wu looked at him with pity in her eyes._

 _"Your life will be a lonely one. Almost as if you are cursed to go on. And because of your longevity, the fate of nations will be decided by you," she said. Again, he seemed unfazed by this as he continued to watch the flames crackle around the bone. For the first time, Wu noticed his eyes. Although he strapping and young, his eyes were that of an old man, tired and worn. How could someone with a face so young have eyes that were so old?_

 _"Is there anything good?" he asked. Wu took great care in looking the bone over._

 _"Ah. Here," she said, pointing to a rather jagged crack while taking great care not to burn herself. It was a strange crack, one she had never seen before and was having a difficult time understanding._

 _"This is a strange one. It tells of your love life."_

 _"My love life?" he asked, sounding a little skeptical._

 _"Yes. You will be reunited with a past love. Only they will have changed so it is as if they are a different person entirely. No, wait, they WILL be a different person. Yes...yes that's exactly what it means. They will have become an entirely new person in the most literal sense," Wu said. Now the young man was looking at her with a cocked eyebrow. But if he was skeptical, he didn't voice it._

 _"Is there anything else?"_

 _"No. The bone is too far gone for me to make anything else. Would you like to try another?" she asked. He shook his head._

 _"Thank you, no, I must be moving on," he said._

 _"Are you certain? My readings are free, after all," she pressed._

 _"I think I know enough right now as it is. Thank you again," he answered_

 _"Wait, I didn't catch your name."_

 _"Ah. But you did. I kind of lied when I said that the term didn't really fit. Ronin describes me perfectly," he said before departing._

I opened my eyes and inhaled slowly, relishing the feeling of the frigid air as it traveled down my throat and cooled my lungs. Today was similar to that day so long ago, so I'm not surprised I found myself thinking back to it.

"What are the eight tenants of a warrior?" I asked. There was a light snow falling from the sky, the first of the year to be exact. Korra and I were standing beneath a tree, moving through the forms of her new fighting style.

"Righteousness, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Honor, Duty, and Self-Control," she answered. As we continued moving through the forms, I studied the way she moved. She was preforming the motions perfectly, but you could tell that her heart wasn't really in it. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"You alright?" I asked as we finished the set.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, a little puzzled.

"Your mind is not here and now, like it should be," I said. Korra looked away, her cheeks gaining a little color.

"Sorry. It's just...I've been thinking a lot about the other night," she said. Ah, so that's what was bothering her. A strange new reality had fallen over the two of us since that night on Aang Memorial Island. Although we hadn't spoken about it, it was still there hanging over our heads. Looks like it was time to rectify that.

"We should talk about that," I said, leaning my training sword against the tree, "tell me, what's bothering you?"

"Maybe it's just me being stupid, but since the other night I've kinda been expecting a little...more out of you. But you've been going on like nothing happened," she said as she leaned her sword next to mine.

"You're expecting me to act more like a boyfriend. Kissing, hugging, holding hands, that kind of thing," I stated. Korra's cheeks gained some color again, and I knew that I had hit the nail on the head. Personally I couldn't really blame her. As far as I knew, all of this was brand new to her.

I thought back to Wu's prediction all those years ago. I've come across several fortunetellers in my life time, and virtually all of them were full of shit. Not Wu, though. A lot of her stuff came true. If that was the case, maybe I could find a relationship with Korra that was more then just that of a student and a teacher, or friends.

"I must seem like such a teenager to you, getting all hung up on a stupid kiss," she said with her head hung. I looked around us, making sure that we were alone. Once I was satisfied that not even the airbending kids were watching, I hooked my fingers beneath her chin, raised her head, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. She almost seemed to melt at that, and I kept my hands on her shoulders when we parted so that she didn't lose her balance.

"I know the way I've been acting, but I have a reason for that. And it's not because I don't like you back," I reassured.

"Then, why?" she asked.

"Two reasons. First one, Tenzin," I said.

"What does he have to do with it," she asked, her face scrunching up in confusion.

"If Tenzin finds out that our relationship has developed to this stage, our training regiment will be altered to the point that I can't take you off of the Island. And trust me, there are still some major aspects to come that will require us not being here," I explained.

"Oh. And the second reason?"

"General disapproval." That defiantly got her confused.

"Huh?"

"Korra. You're seventeen. I'm four hundred and ninety nine. That is the mother of age differences," I said.

"Oh."

"Yeah. So, for the time being at least, I want to keep this on the down low."

"So officially we're not dating?" she asked.

"If anyone asks, no we're not."

"And unofficially?" I grinned and gave her another kiss.

"What do you think?" She smiled at that.

"I think I'm going to look forward to our sessions more often."

* * *

I sat watching as Korra and her team practiced in the Arena gym. It was early morning, and I was tired, but I was curious to see how my student was translating her lessons into her Pro Bending, which was why I was here. That, and I was just using as an excuse to spend more time with her, but only she and I knew that.

Truth be told I was barely paying attention. Pro Bending didn't really hold that much of an interest for me. When you've seen the things I've seen, people pounding on each other with the elements for sport kinda loses it's appeal. So after seeing what I had come to see, I was just sitting around waiting for them to get done.

"Not quite, you'll need these." The sound of the new voice brought me out of my haze. The team's practice seemed to be over. There was a young woman standing a short distance away, holding a Pro Bending uniform with a half gear on the chest. She had a light skin tone, raven black hair, and light green eyes.

"Hey, Asami," Mako said, greeting the woman.

"Good morning, sweetie," she replied as the Team Captain stepped forward and looked over the new uniforms. Ah, so this was the infamous Asami Sato. Korra had found the girl to be annoying, believing her to be a spoiled rich girl. I was holding my judgment until I had actually met her.

"These look great," Mako said.

"You look great, champ," Asami replied before they rubbed noses. Bolin and Korra looked annoyed by the display of affection between the two. I didn't really care. In fact I was starting to wonder if I had been forgotten or not.

"Well, teammates, I'll see you before the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date," Mako said as he hung his arm around Asami.

"It's nine thirty in the morning," I said, looking at my pocket watch.

"Okay, we'll check you guys later," Bolin said as he waved after the couple. Apparently my words were falling on deaf ears today. Korra finished putting her gear into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder.

"Soo, Korra. There they go, here we are, all alone in the gym, just you and me, two alone people. Together. Alone," Bolin said as he slid over to Korra. Now I would like to tell myself that after five centuries I'm not really the jealous type. You name it, I've probably had it done to me in a relationship at some point. But that didn't mean that if Bolin so much as laid a finger on her at that point I wouldn't have removed it entirely. Although I couldn't be entirely sure if it was out of jealousy, or simply because I was annoyed at how many times he said the word alone.

"I actually have a training session with Ryou," Korra replied, pointing at me as if to remind the earthbender that I was still there. My old heart soured a little at that. Despite all that, I surprisingly felt a little angry with myself. I thought I had mastered my emotions long ago, and yet here I was feeling like a teenager eager to spend time with his first girlfriend. If this was the case, I needed to sit down and reevaluate just how much she had an effect on me.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you guys later then," Bolin said, looking a little downtrodden before he headed off on his own. Korra watched her friend go before she came up to me.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"After you," I replied. Although I didn't say anything, I was a little concerned about Bolin. He seemed like a great kid, if not a little naive. And it was obvious that he had a thing for Korra. She, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to it, which told me one of two things. The first was that she was just as naive, if not more so than him and simply didn't realize what his advances were. Or, she did know what they were and was purposefully ignoring them because she had a secret relationship with me.

Personally I figured that the latter was the more likely. And no, that wasn't cause I was trying to stroke my own ego. Korra, from what I had seen even in the days immediately after leaving the Compound knew enough about social interaction that she could pick up on most things. Even she could have picked up on the signals that Bolin was sending her.

Regardless if Korra recognized them or not, she was going to have to do something about it and soon. I'd seen Bolin's type all my life. They may act tough, and sometimes even have the brawn to back up the act, but when you got right down to it they took things to heart way to easily. Unless Korra let him down easily, I did not see this ending well.

"So what do you think of our chances tonight?" Korra asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"You know my opinion of Pro Bending," I said.

"I wasn't asking your opinion of the sport, I was asking what you thought our chances were." I was silent for a short time as we walked, reviewing what I had seen of her team when I was daydreaming.

"You and the brothers move like a well oiled machine. Play like you practice, and I'm sure that you guys will win," I answered honestly. She smiled at that. We walked for a little while in silence, enjoying each others company. It was only after we had boarded the ferry back to Air Temple Island that Korra asked her next question.

"What did you mean when you said that my training will require us to leave the Island?" she asked.

"You are nearing completion of the first segment of your training. The final test will require a trip into the wild to truly see what you have learned and mastered," I answered.

"But...the tournament..."

"Relax. By the time this trip will come about, the tournament will have been long over," I said. She fell silent at that, looking up at the passing statue of Aang. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"You have accomplished much in such a short time. You should be proud," I said. She smiled and gave me a hug.

"Thank you, Ryou," she said into my ear. I pulled back and gave her a quick kiss.

"Tell you what, you win tonight's match, and I'll reward you with a meal at a Water Tribe place I know," I said. Korra's face brightened at that.

"You're on!"

* * *

I'm not sure if it was the promise of food or a thinly veiled date, but in the end results are results. Korra and the Fire Ferrets absolutely slaughtered their opponents, taking all three rounds and ending with a solid knockout of the other team. In fact, the match was so one sided that I had to wonder if the other team truly sucked that bad, or if they had been paid to take a fall.

To put it lightly, had this been a battle there would have been no survivors.

Korra met me right after the match ended and we set off into the city. Her hair was still wet from the quick shower she had taken, so it shined under the street lights as we walked. We chatted back and forth about the match and what points she could have improved on. Finally we arrived at the place we were going, Narook's Seaweed Noodlery.

Now personally I didn't really care much for Water Tribe food. It was always some kind of sea food, be it fish or seaweed or some other sea plant. Having grown up in a fishing village, I'd had enough of that. Noodles though, that was something I'd had a weakness for my entire life. That, and the place served good booze, but that was neither here nor there.

Funny enough, I'd actually stumbled across this place the last time I was in the city. It had just opened then, and it hadn't changed a bit since. Apparently it was fairly popular with the youth of the area, so the place had a few patrons when we got there. We got a table and sat down before placing our orders.

"So, do you mind if I ask kind of a personal question?" she asked. I shrugged as a waiter sat our drinks down.

"Depends on the question," I replied.

"What was Kyoshi like?" she asked.

"Didn't you learn about your past lives?"

"I did. But until I connect with them, all I've got to go off of is some history books. It'd be nice to hear about it from someone who actually knew her," she said.

"Knew her, or KNEW her?" I asked. Her cheeks flushed at my double meaning.

"I..I..you know what I mean!" I chuckled at her discomfort.

"You and her are a lot alike, actually. You're both strong, stubborn, and not afraid to go after what you wanted," I said.

"I feel like there's a but coming," she said.

"There is. Kyoshi was a stickler for rules. Very code and honor bound. You're more laid back, more go with the flow. In a way, you're easier to work with."

"Easier to work with?"

"Yeah. Once Kyoshi got it into her head about the way something should go, she would insure it went that way. Her policy was one of swift and decisive action, more often then not from the edge of her fans. You, on the other hand, aren't quite willing to take it as far as she did. You'll beat the crap out of someone, but killing them is out of the question," I explained. A waiter came by and sat a pair of bowls on the table, and we both set to eating on the noodles.

"These are authentic! I haven't had legit Water Tribe food since we left the Compound," she said through a mouthful.

"You never realize just how much you love meat until you have no access to it," I replied. Our evening continued on relatively well from that point. We laughed. I told her stories of my adventures. She asked questions about her past lives. Overall, we had a good time, and after several bowls between us it was time to head back to Air Temple Island.

We walked in silence, enjoying each others company. At some point, Korra intertwined her hand with mine. There wasn't anyone around who could identify us. To those we past, we were just another young couple out for a stroll. I found myself more relaxed then I had felt in a long time. For some reason, with Korra it was like I could almost let go of the harshness of the past. Meditation, wandering, even drinking hadn't given me this level of peace.

"I have another question for you," she said.

"Hm?"

"You said that you fought all throughout the Hundred Year War. How did you do that without anyone noticing your...condition?" she asked.

"Every five to ten years or so I'd leave whatever unit I was apart of and reenlist somewhere else under a different name. Photographs hadn't really been developed yet, so it was easy just to show up with a fake name on some fake papers and slip right in," I explained with a shrug.

"You really wanted to fight that bad?"

"I wanted to die that bad," I answered, my voice soft.

"And now?" I thought of the Observer and his words. The Spirit that maintained the boundary between the Physical and Spirit Worlds had been a reason to stay ahead of death, true enough. But now, I had more then just that to hang on to.

"Now, I actually have things worth living for," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. It may have been from the cold, but I saw Korra's cheeks blush under the street lights. Suddenly, I felt the hair stand on the back of my neck, and it wasn't from the sudden gust of cold air that came down the narrow street we were on. After all my years, I'd learned to trust my instincts.

Someone was watching us. I came to a halt, looking both in the direction we were going and the direction we had come from. The thing about instinct like this is that it doesn't actually tell you if the person watching means you harm or not. It just simply lets you know you are being watched. The rest is up to you.

"What is it?" Korra asked noticing my shift in demeanor. I released her hand and held up a finger, motioning for her to be silent. She must have realized that something wasn't right, as she remained quiet and began to look around as well. I closed my eyes and listened to the area around us. At first, all I could hear was the sounds of the city, and the roar of a gust of wind. Then, just as the wind died down, I heard it. The faint sound of smooth metal sliding against metal, and the soft creak of fiber cable straining under tension.

My eyes shot open and my hand flew to my belt, drawing my sword hilt and extending the blade at the same time. I was just in time to swat the arrow that flew out of the shadows away. Two more followed, but I repeated the process, deflecting the arrows away from myself and Korra. I assumed a ready position, holding the sword straight out in front of me and watching for the next arrow.

Korra assumed a bending position as our assailant stepped out of the shadows, wearing her Equalist uniform. Takeko had another arrow nocked in her bow and had it drawn back, ready to let it fly. There was something off about the way she moved though. This was the woman who had bested the Yuyan Archers in both grace and skill. But here, she was moving in a more clunky fashion, like she wasn't at the top of her game.

"Amon change his mind and decide to finish us off now?" I asked. The female archer didn't answer, but rather let her arrow fly. I deflected this shot as well before lunging forward, slicing her drawstring and rendering the bow useless. She hissed in anger as she sprung back and drew her swords. Then she leapt forward, swinging her blades in a furious motion.

She may have been skilled with a bow, but Takeko was only average with her swords. They were only to be used as a last resort, if someone got too close for her to use her bow. So I stood there, one hand behind my back as I parried away her blades with relative ease. She seemed to be getting frustrated as this went on. As we went, I noticed her eyes. They were dilated, her pupils being so large that they almost drowned out the green of her iris.

"What did they do to you?" I asked as I locked our blades together. She yelled in frustration and kicked me backwards before bringing her swords down in a downward strike, intending to bury them in my shoulders. I held up my own blade at a sideways angle, catching both of them while keeping all three level with my face.

"Takeko, this isn't you. You're under the influence of something, snap out of it!" I ordered.

"The only thing I am under the influence of is my Master," she replied, "and my Master has ordered you to die!" I would like to say that timed seemed to slow down after that. That I saw everything with hyper clarity. The unfortunate truth is that I didn't see any of that. In fact, I didn't see anything again after that.

Takeko threw all of her weight forward in order to break the lock. However that momentum forced my own blade right back into my eyes. I suddenly saw red, and then pitch darkness as plain exploded across my face and skull. A yell of pain and shock erupted from my mouth as I stumbled backwards, my left hand flying to my face. Then a boot planted in my chest, and I was sprawled out on my back, my sword flying beyond my reach.

Blood was streaming down my face, and I could see absolutely nothing. I could hear just fine though. The sound of flames reached my ears as Korra jumped in to my rescue, throwing fireballs at our attacker. This was enough to force Takeko to flee apparently, as the sound of Korra bending soon came to an end, followed by a hand appearing on my shoulder.

"Ryou? Are you okay, talk to me," she said, her voice coming from my right and having a worried edge to it.

"How bad is it?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"I can't tell, there is too much blood. We need to get you to a hospital," she said.

"No, no. You can heal me, I know you can."

"Ryou this is beyond me. A proper doctor is the only chance you have of your eyesight being saved," she argued.

"How bad is it?" I asked again, adding a little venom in my voice to show I wasn't fooling around.

"The blade buried itself in the bridge of your nose and your eyes themselves," she answered. I felt my way up her arm until my hand was at her shoulder.

"Help me up, and get my sword," I instructed. I felt myself being pulled to my feet, and I had to stand there for a moment leaning against the wall while she got my sword. By the time she came back, I could feel the blood had already worked its way down my cheeks and was dripping off the tip of my nose. Finally she came back and I leaned on her, putting my arm around her shoulder as I did so.

"Not exactly how I pictured this night ending," I said.

"Oh, and how did you see this playing out?" she asked.

"I was gonna take you back and as you out on a second date before giving you a goodnight kiss," I said. Okay, this was good. The pain may have been disorientating, but if I could still joke that meant it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"Sounds like a stereotype if you ask me," Korra grunted.

"I know, that's why I added in the blood and blindness."

"Whatever. Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other," she said, "and for the record, you big loaf, I'm gonna hold you to that second date." I smiled at that, although between the blood and the stinging pain it probably looked more like a grimace.

"One foot at a time," I replied.

 **And that's a wrap. And a cliffhanger. Just a heads up chapters from this point on will switch more between Ryou and third person POV, for obvious reasons. So what do you guys think of these new developments? Like em? Hate em? Let me know by dropping a review, leaving a PM, ask a question or ten, and I'll see you all next time.**


	11. New Problems

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. I tried something a little different this time around, switching back and forth between third person and Ryou's point of view. Let's see how that turned out. On with the chapter:**

Tenzin hurried through the halls of the hospital, following the directions he had been given by a nurse sitting at the front desk. Earlier he had received a phone call from Korra. The young woman had explained in a rather strained voice what had happened, where they were, and that he needed to come immediately. He'd wasted no time, getting there as quickly as he could.

As he rounded a corner, the airbending master spied Korra, along with Lin and a few metalbending officers all standing around a door. The Chief of Police had her arms crossed, while Korra was looking at the floor between her boots.

"I want the truth, Avatar. Has he killed before or not?" Lin asked as he approached.

"I've already told you everything," Korra replied weakly. It was evident that she was tired and drained after the night's events.

"What's going on?" Tenzin asked.

"I was just asking the Avatar a few questions about her boyfriend," Lin answered.

"He's not my boyfriend," she weakly defended, but this seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Why are you here, Lin?"

"Protocol dictates that when someone is brought in sustaining injuries such as these, the police must investigate," Lin said.

"And how does this lead to you questioning Korra about Ryou?"

"Because this wasn't some random mugging that went sideways, Tenzin. Ryou was attacked by an assassin, a professional at that. I need to know what I'm dealing with here if I'm going to keep more bodies from hitting the ground," Lin said.

"Master Ryou has many years of defense experience and training. I am confident that he will be able to handle himself," Tenzin said. The two women shared a look.

"You didn't tell him," Lin said.

"I thought it was best he saw for himself," Korra replied.

"Tell me what?"

"Ryou was blinded during the attack. The doctors say there is a good chance he may never see again," Lin explained. At that moment, the door opened and a man with a receding hair line and spectacles stepped out. He looked at the others before focusing his attention on Korra.

"I've done all I can for your friend. We won't know for certain about his sight until his wounds heal, but he's young and fit, so there is a chance," he said.

"Thank you, Doctor," Korra said. The doctor nodded before heading off. Korra watched him go before taking a breath. She opened the door and slipped into the room. Ryou was sitting upright on the edge of an examination table, and she paused for a moment to study him. His dark hair had grown out some during the past couple of months, as had the facial hair on his jawline and chin. The most noticeable new thing was the set of white bandages that were wrapped around his head, covering his eyes.

"Let me guess, this is the part where you give me a lecture about the dangers of running with scissors," he said. She smiled at that, at least he hadn't lost his sense of humor.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, walking forward so that she was just in front of him.

"Aggravated, mainly. I made a rookie mistake and let my guard down," he said.

"And the fact that you can't see."

"Well that goes without saying."

"So what did they say?" she asked as she took his head in her hands and tilted it one way and then the other, looking over the bandage work that had been done.

"About a week or so with the bandages and healing sessions, and then we go from there," he replied.

"They're gonna make you come back here for daily healing sessions?" she asked.

"No. I told them I know a decent healer who could handle the job," he answered with a grin. At that moment, Lin and Tenzin walked into the room. Ryou seemed to perk up as they crossed the threshold into the room.

"Lin and Tenzin, so glad you could join us," he said. The two looked at each other before looking back at him.

"How did..."

"I smell metal, oil and sandalwood. And frankly you two are the only metal and airbenders who would bother to come see me," Ryou explained.

"Ah," Tenzin said, unsure of why he expected anything else.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure, Lin?" Ryou asked, ignoring the airbending master and focusing on the Chief of Police.

"I got a body count of seven, all of them by sword, and then I turn around and hear that you've been admitted to a hospital after being injured by a sword. Why do you think I'm here," Lin deadpanned as she folded her arms. Ryou sighed.

"Takeko is who your looking for. She's a former Fire Nation agent acting as an agent for Amon," he explained.

"Wait, Agents haven't been active since the War," Tenzin said.

"And can anyone figure out why this is significant? Winner gets a prize," Ryou said.

"Are you saying that this woman is like you?" Lin asked.

"Ding ding ding, kids we have a winner." The metalbender pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Great. As if we didn't have enough problems."

"There's something else," Ryou said, turning serious, "Takeko doesn't directly work for Amon. She's on loan to him. Someone else is pulling stings here."

"Perhaps we can get that information out of her when we catch her," Lin said. Ryou turned his head away slightly. He didn't seem as optimistic as she did.

* * *

Time passed quickly for me after I was released from the hospital. It took a little bit, but I was able to adjust to being blind. Sleeping became a pain in the ass, as my body could no longer tell the difference between night and day. There was also the little things, like banging my feet against every single piece of furniture on the Island, or running into door frames because I misjudged where the door was. However, by the end of the week my other senses had adapted to the point that I was at least able to walk around without hitting anything anymore.

Everyday it was the same. Wake up, change bandages, have a healing session with Korra, and then spend the rest of the day trying to adapt. I was confined to the Island for the time being thanks to doctor's orders. And by doctor, I mean Korra. She really took charge of my recovery. To everyone else, it was to insure that my eyes healed properly, and that I didn't walk off a cliff. Between her and me, it was an excuse for us to spend time with each other.

It was the morning of the Finals when the bandages came off for the last time. I was sitting in my room, waiting as Korra slowly unwound the bandages from around my head. Feeling the last I them fall away, I opened my eyes, only to feel my heart sink. Instead of Korra's bright smile, all I saw was darkness.

My sight was gone.

"How do they look?" I asked, the disappointment showing in my voice.

"Your eyes are a murky gray color now," she answered. I cocked my head at her.

"You sound disappointed at that," I noted.

"I am. I really liked the color of your eyes the way they were," she said.

"What color were they?" I asked, deciding to test her.

"Hazel, a bright mixture of brown and green," she answered instantly. I gave her a smile, and felt her hand appear on my cheek.

"It's a shame. They look so...dead now. Like the eyes of a ghost," she said.

"I'm not dead yet," I reassured, taking her hand in mine. She gave a yelp of surprise when I pulled her down into my lap and began to kiss her. At first, she was a little stiff as she grasped the situation. Then, she melted into me, and our kissing grew in heat. I used my hand to trace over her cheeks and jaw line, using touch in place of sight to memorize her features. She didn't seem to mind as she gave a hum of approval.

Korra let out a gasp as I broke from her lips and traveled down her jaw to her neck. She wrapped her arms around my head as I gently kissed at the sensitive spots.

"Ryou," she whined softly.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, but I have to get to practice," she explained as she pulled away. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Tonight was the Finals, and that meant she and her team needed every once of practice they could get.

"You're right. But we're picking up where we left off, later," I said. Her lips appeared on mine again.

"Oh trust me, I'm counting on it," she said before taking off again. This was as far as our relationship had gone physically. Granted, we'd only been together for about two weeks, and half of that was spent dealing with me going blind and what not, so we really hadn't had a chance to talk about it. The question was, just how far were we willing to take it?

Korra was young and inexperienced. I wasn't sure what her boundaries were, and I was sure she didn't know either. We'd just barely begun to scratch that surface. I, on the other hand, had two different bloodlines of direct descendants. Let's just say I've done this a time or two before. One thing I had learned over the years was patience. Korra would be ready when she was ready, and it was best not to rush her.

I spent the rest of the day mainly hanging around the Island, trying to stay out of other peoples' way. Heading into the city on my own still wasn't an option yet, but I was able to walk around outside on my own so that was an improvement. After getting my hands on a walking stick to help out with my walking, I started doing laps around the Island, if anything to stave off the boredom.

It was on my third lap that I noticed Jinora's laughter. Ordinary I would have ignored it and just kept going, but there was something about it that caught my attention. From the sounds of things, it was like she was playing with a friend. The reason this struck me as odd was because her siblings were on the other side of the Island, and the girl didn't have many friends from off the Island to begin with.

Curious, I began to follow the sounds of laughter. As I drew closer, I felt the Mark on my hand begin to itch. I had learned long ago that this only happened when there was a Spirit nearby. Jinora may have been young, but she wasn't foolish by any stretch. She could probably recognize a Spirit that meant harm with ease. If she was laughing like this, that meant she wasn't in any danger, so I remained relaxed.

"Jinora?"

"Oh, Master Ryou. I didn't see you there," came the reply. She sounded like she was standing a little off to my left. I turned my head toward the sound of her voice.

"Who are you playing with?"

"Um...no one," she said. I sent a patient smile her way.

"It is not wise to lie to an elder, Little One. Go on, tell me, who were you playing with?" I asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said, sounding a little down. I got the feeling that she had been down this road before.

"You forget, you are speaking to man who has walked this earth since long before the modern world was even a dream. Go on, try me," I challenged.

"Well, I can...I can see Spirits," she said. This wasn't the first time I had encountered someone who could see Spirits. Many sages and wise men had the ability, and in the old days it was fairly common among the Air Nomads. I felt a tingle in my Mark again, as if to indicate that there was something over it, but not touching it.

"Are there any around us now?" I asked.

"One. He's looking at your hand," Jinora answered. That confirmed it.

"You have a very strong Spiritual connection, Little One. That is a rare thing, these days."

"Wait, you've encountered people like me before?"

"Oh yes. In the days of old, it was quite common among the Air Nomads. Sadly, as the world has modernized, the Spirits seem to shy away from us," I said.

"That's so sad. Humans and Spirits could learn so much from each other."

"Perhaps. We are much alike. But humans are also capable of great destruction upon themselves and those around them. I think it is best that we remain separate," I said.

"But, that doesn't seem like a proper solution."

"No. But it has insured the survival of both sides for thousands of years," I said. "There is both good and bad in all things, Little One. Remember that."

"I..I'll remember."

"Have you told your father about this?" I asked.

"No. He'll think I'm just playing," she replied. I reached out and patted her on the head.

"Somehow I doubt that. The future of the airbenders resides with you and your siblings. And they will need your gift. You don't have to tell him now, but promise that you will at some point."

"I will," she promised.

I didn't end up going to the Finals as I wasn't recovered enough, not that it would have done me any good anyway. All I would have accomplished would have been sitting in the stands listening to the crowds shout. Instead I sat on Air Temple Island, listening to the live radio broadcast. Which means that I heard every little bit of the Equalist attack.

I was furious for not being able to be there and help Korra. But I wasn't foolish enough to think that I could have made a difference, not in my current state anyway. Besides, from what I heard, Korra and Lin handled the situation fairly well, even if Amon managed to escape. However, this started a whole new host of problems.

Aside from the fact that the Pro Bending season was now over, and the Arena had suffered damage in the attack, Mako and Bolin were now effectively homeless. Korra managed to convince Tenzin to offer the brothers a place to stay on Air Temple Island, and when he agreed she was so excited to tell them that she ran off without a second thought.

When she came back a short while later, I was outside practicing adapting my sword skills to my new situation. It took concentration and practice, but after a few hours of trying I was able to slice bits of fruit out of the air with almost the same skill I had when I could see. The breeze shifted slightly, and I caught the crunch of boots on the snow along with the sweet scent of a lily. Korra didn't wear perfume, but now that I was relying on my other senses I could smell her shampoo a mile off.

"How did it go?" I asked as I allowed my blade to telescope back into the hilt.

"Asami beat me to the punch. Mako and Bolin are gonna live with her at the Sato Estate," she huffed.

"Is that really a bad thing?" I asked as I reattached the hilt to my belt and picked up my stick.

"No. But I spent a lot of time convincing Tenzin to let them stay here, and now all that was done for nothing."

"Did Asami bar you from going to see them at her place?"

"No. In fact she invited me over there tomorrow. Both of us, in fact," she answered.

"Why would she invite me if she hasn't even been properly introduced to me?" I asked.

"Technically she invited me, and said I could bring along a plus one if I wanted."

"Ah."

"So are you gonna come with me?" she asked.

"Might as well," I said with a shrug. I was going insane with cabin fever, and frankly passing up the chance to visit the Estate of one of the wealthiest families in the country if not on the planet wasn't something I was going to do.

"I don't know if I'm gonna like this," she grumbled. I smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You never know unless you give something a chance."

The Sato Estate was huge. And I'm just talking about the house, not the lands surrounding it. Being situated on a mountainside just beyond the edge of the city, the place was large enough that we had to take a car just to get up the driveway. There's money, and then there's too much money. When you're yard is large enough for you to be the governor of your own providence, you fall into the latter category.

The actual mansion itself was huge. I could tell that just by listening to the wind blowing around the damn thing. When we got inside, we were greeted by a butler who took our jackets and led us into a pool room where the others were. I could hear someone splashing in the pool, as well as a waterfall. I had to admit, even though I couldn't actually see anything, I was still impressed. I'd been in royal palaces that weren't this nice.

"Korra, I'm glad you could make it. Who's your friend?" Asami asked. I turned my head toward the sound of her voice. At least now I knew where she, and judging by the splashing and sound of water moving around, I had an idea of where the brothers were as well.

"Asami, this is Ryou. Ryou, this is Asami Sato," Korra introduced. I bowed lightly in the direction of the heiress.

"Hello."

"Charmed," she replied. An awkward silence fell immediately after that, and I got the sense that something was going on I couldn't see.

"Um...Asami, he's blind," Korra said.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I was holding out my hand to shake," Asami explained.

"Ah. Don't worry yourself too much, think nothing of it," I said as I held my hand out, which she shook. There was something odd about the heiress' hand. It wasn't soft like the kind of hand belonging to someone who was use to a life of luxury. They were calloused and worn, yet still retaining their femininity. These were the hands that belonged to a young woman who liked to tinker and spin a wrench.

"Wait, when did that happen?" Mako asked.

"Last week. There was a mugging that went bad. It's why I wasn't at the Finals," I answered.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Bolin asked. I narrowed my eyes and turned my head in Korra's direction.

"Hit him, please."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna do that. So Asami, what are we gonna do today? Let me guess, a makeover?"

"If you want. But I have something a little more exciting in mind," the heiress answered. Something about the way she spoke told me I wasn't gonna quite like what she had in mind. And I was right. It turns out Asami's version of exciting was to race satomobiles. Which, I'll admit, I would have found exciting, if I could have actually seen the race. Instead all I heard was the squeal of tires and the roar of the engines. It was impossible to tell who was winning or losing at any given time.

But there was a perk to be gained out of it. Korra quickly dropped the preconceived notion she had about Asami. Pampered and rich beyond compare? Yes. But certainly not weak or dainty, not by a long shot. Something told me that this girl was as tough as nails, and would have no problem living without daddy's money if it came to that.

After the racing ended, we went back into the mansion. Bolin immediately ran off to find a bathroom, and Korra excused herself to use the ladies room on the second floor. That just left Mako, Asmai and myself standing around waiting for the others to come back.

"So, Ryou, how long have you known Korra?" Asami asked, deciding to break the ice. I thought for a moment, doing the calculations in my head.

"About thirteen years," I answered.

"So you were childhood friends with her?"

"No. I met her when she was four. We've only been working together for about three or four months now," I said.

"And what exactly is it you do with her?"

"I'm training her in the way of the sword," I answered.

"He's a defense instructor," Mako said. I jerked my head in his direction.

"Watch it, fire flake. I may be blind, but I can still put a kid back into place," I warned.

Oooh boy, that was bad, what did I miss?" Bolin asked as he came back.

"We were talking about Ryou and Korra," Mako said.

"Really? I was hoping to get to ask you a few questions!"

"Bolin..."

"What? He doesn't come around that often. And it's not everyday you get to talk to an immortal," the earthbender defended. I sent a glare his way, but he must not have noticed. Maybe its the whole dead eyes thing that keeps the point from getting across.

"Immortal?" Asami asked.

"Yeah! Ryou here may not look it, but he's like a thousand years old. Seriously," Bolin said. I started slapping the big mouthed idiot, upping how much force I put behind it with each blow.

"Why. Don't. You. Just. Sell. State. Secrets. Next. Loud. Mouth!" I said, ending my tirade with a backhand across the face. Now before I get crap for slapping another guy, let me just make it clear that I was angry enough at this point that if I had punched him, I wouldn't have stopped until he was in a coma.

"Are you really a thousand years old?" Asami asked, the doubt was very clear in her voice.

"Five hundred, actually," I answered.

"I still have trouble believing him, too," Mako said. I wasn't surprised by the amount of doubt being sent my way. Frankly, had I been in their shoes I would have been doing the exact same thing. But, I also couldn't care less whether they believed me or not. When you've been around for this long, you stop caring about what other people think.

Thankfully, I didn't have to explain myself as Korra came back at that moment. She was in a hurry, and I could smell the staleness of face powder. Oh Spirits, she must have tried to powder her face. That would have been priceless to see.

"Ryou, I just remembered we have to babybend, I mean air sit, I mean.."

"Watch Tenzin's brats and train?" I supplied. If she kept up her word jumble, the others would have thought we were up to some very strange sexual stuff or something. I would have anyway, and I'm the only one here who's not a hormonal teenager.

"Yes, now we need to go," she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me out. Luckily we managed to snag out coats before we left. It was only when we were about halfway back down the driveway that I finally decided to ask what was going on.

"So, you gonna explain what that was all about?" I asked.

"I overheard a phone call Hiroshi Sato was having. I think he's working with the Equalists," Korra explained. I actually came to a full halt at this revelation.

"That's a very serious charge. Especially after everything that's been happening," I said.

"Do you believe me?" she asked. I sighed.

"I do. But can you blame me if I told you that I'm praying you are dead wrong?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Sato is one of the top industrialists in the country. If the Equalists gain an ally like that? There's no telling what they can churn out," I explained.

"No...no I couldn't blame you," she said. I put my hands on her shoulders.

"All the same, if you feel strongly enough about it, you need to go to Lin and Tenzin with this," I said, "And by the Spirits, try not to leave me out of another fight this time."

"I make no promises," she replied.

* * *

Ryou actually had to wind up waiting almost thirty six hours for something to happen. The police raided Future Industries and all of Sato's warehouses, but had turned up nothing At first, it seemed like the Industrialist was innocent, until Korra received a tip from an Equalist turncoat. The man, who claimed to have become disillusioned with Amon's cause, stated that Sato was not only behind the new electrified gloves that the Equalists were using, but he was still developing new weapons. On top of that, the factory that was producing these new weapons was hidden beneath the Sato Estate.

Korra kept her promise, insuring that the airship they were on stopped by Air Temple Island to pick him up as they were headed across the city to the Estate. Tenzin didn't seem to mind having him along, but Lin wasn't overly thrilled about the notion. Ryou, for his part, stayed out of everyone's way, standing in front of the windows at the front of the airship with his hands clasped behind his back. His murky eyes stared out over the cityscape, as if he was actually watching it.

"Just so we're clear, if you get in my way tonight, I can lock you up for obstruction of justice," Lin said as she stood next to him.

"And if things go sideways?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." The airship landed at the Sato Estate, effectively sealing off the mansion grounds to keep anyone from slipping away. Searching of the mansion itself and outlying buildings obviously turned up nothing. After questioning Asami on the location of her father, the group made their way to the workshop located behind the mansion. Ryou remained silent the entire time, observing the events as they unfolded.

A closer inspection of the workshop reviled that there was a hidden tunnel that led deep into the mountainside. Korra, Tenzin, Lin, and a detachment of metalbenders descended into the tunnel, leaving Ryou, Mako, Bolin, Asami, and an officer named Song behind.

"You've been quiet the entire time," Mako noted.

"Something does not seem right about all of this," Ryou replied. His arms were folded and his hand was on his chin in thought.

"There's a secret tunnel under my father's workshop and apparently he's been working with a madman, you've sure got that right," Asami said bitterly. Ryou's frown didn't disappear, however.

"No, that's not what I mean. Korra got the tip about this place from an Equalist turncoat," he said.

"Yeah, looks like his intel was good," Mako said.

"It's not that. The Equalists have always been fanatical in their devotion to Amon. And now, all of a sudden a guy with valuable information like this just happens to decide to switch sides? Seems pretty convenient if you ask me," Ryou explained.

"Wait, you think they're walking into a trap?" Bolin asked. The sound of something large and metal slamming down echoed up from the tunnel.

"I don't think, I know."

"We gotta get down there," Mako said.

"Absolutely not. The Chief ordered us to stay here," Song said. Everyone looked at each other, and Ryou drew his sword hilt.

"Sorry about this," he said before clubbing the metalbender over the helmet, knocking the man out cold. With that, the group started down the tunnel. Ryou placed his hand on Asami's shoulder, partly for support and partly for guidance. He felt sorry for the young woman. He hadn't seen or heard mention of a mother, so he figured she must have been out of the picture, and these revelations about her father certainly weren't doing any good either. From her point of view, it must have seemed that the world was crashing down around her.

At the bottom of the shaft, they found themselves standing before I giant metal door. Mako produced a jet of flame from his fingers and began to focus it on the metal, but quickly gave up when he realized that it wasn't doing anything.

"It's platinum. There's no way we can bend or burn our way through," he said. Ryou stepped forward and tapped a knuckle against the door, listening to the metal as it echoed back.

"Hm. It's not as thick as I thought it would be," he said before drawing his sword hilt. They may not have been able to burn or bend their way through the door, but they could cut their way no problem.

"How is a sword gonna help us in a situation like this?" Bolin asked.

"This is the sword of a Rider, forged from some of the strongest alloys ever created. It was designed with the intent to cut through the armor of a dragon. And if it can do that, then a metal door should be like warm butter," Ryou explained before turning the sword sideways and stabbing it into the door up to the hilt.

He created long cut on the door before stabbing it again at each end of the first cut. The second and third cuts followed, running from the first to the floor. With a swift kick of his foot, Ryou knocked out the square he had carved out of the door, creating an opening of his own. The metal slab slammed down onto the floor with an almighty crash, but the swordsman just walked through like nothing had happened.

The others followed suit, and what they found on the other side stunned them. It was a factory alright, complete with posters of Amon and everything. What's more were the mecha tanks, massive suits made of metal that were standing between them and the first group. In the center of it all was the Lieutenant and Hiroshi Sato himself.

"You two get Tenzin, Korra, and Lin. I'll cover you," Ryou instructed as he walked forward, holding his sword at the ready. The brothers raced to collect the trio, each slinging Korra and Tenzin respectively over their shoulders while they dragged Lin between them.

"Do you really think that little twig stands a chance against one of my machines here?" Sato boasted when he noticed the swordsman approaching, banging his fist against it.

"I know what it did to your door. The real question is, can your machines stand up to my blade?" Ryou replied.

"You will not escape here. You'll all make great prisoners for Amon," Hiroshi said, sparking his gloves as he spoke.

"Sponsoring our team, supporting the Avatar, it was all just a cover up," Mako accused.

"Yes, and the hardest part was watching my daughter traipse around with a firebending street rat like you!"

"STOP!" Asami shouted. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she walked toward her father.

"Dad...why?"

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this Asami. These people, these...BENDERS. They took away your mother, the only woman I ever loved. They ruined the world! But with Amon, we can create a new world, a perfect one. We can help people like us, please, join me," Hiroshi said as he slipped off one of his electrified gloves and offered it to his daughter.

The heiress stepped forward, her bright green eyes glued to the glove. With a trembling hand, she reached out and grasped the weapon.

"We are all our own person, Asami," Ryou suddenly said, "Don't let yourself be defined by what someone else wants." She looked at the blind man, before returning her attention to her father. She took the glove from his hand and slipped it on her own.

"No," Mako whispered in disbelief. Korra raised her head slightly, having finally recovered some from her attack. Then, Asami's expression turned to stone as she looked up at her father.

"I love you, dad," she said before planting the glove in the center of his chest and electrocuting him. The inventor cried out as he collapsed, knocked out from the effect of his own weapon. Instantly the Lieutenant sprang froward, swinging his electrified sticks at her. But Asami was ready for this, grabbing his arm and twisting it so that the stick was jabbing him in the chest and electrocuting him.

As the Lieutenant fell to the ground, the pilots of the mecha tanks finally realized what was happening. The giant mechanical suits rolled forward, intending to surround and overwhelm the group. Ryou stood up straight like a soldier standing at attention. He raised his sword so that it was straight up and down before his face before he swung it off to the side in a salute.

"Let's get out of here!" Mako shouted.

"Go, I will buy you some time," Ryou said. He raised his left hand before clenching it into a fist with the back of his hand facing outward.

"But, you're..."

"GO!" he ordered. The lead mecha tank fired a cable from it's arm, but Ryou easily dodged the attack, jumping over the cable and landing on the machine's outstretched arm. He ran up the arm, holding his sword at the ready. When he reached the joint, Ryou sliced his blade through the machine as if it was made of cloth. As the arm fell away, the swordsman flipped through the air, landing on the shoulders of the machine and stabbing his blade straight down through the visor and into the head of the pilot.

Yanking his blade free, Ryou crouched his knees and focused his attention on the next mecha tank. He jumped as the one he currently stood on began to fall over, landing on the front of the machine and catching himself on the visor with his free hand. Korra watched in awe as he used the hand gripping the tank to throw himself into the air before coming back down, stabbing his sword into the suit's visor like he had done with the first.

The mecha tank rolled backwards as the pilot inside began to panic in an effort to get Ryou off. He dodged a swipe made at him from one of the tank's arms before yanking his blade free. With two clean swipes, he removed the suit's arms before stabbing through the visor again, impaling the pilot in the chest. That done, he jumped from the tank and landed on one knee, allowing the large machine to roll straight into a truck and causing both machines to topple over onto their sides.

Standing to his full height, Ryou began to walk back to the others with his sword held to the side in a resting position. The remaining two mecha tanks rolled forward, intending to intercept him. Ryou's pace increased, going from a walk, to a jog, to a full on sprint in less then ten seconds. Korra watched with her mouth agape. There was no way this could be the same man she had been helping recover of the past week.

Ryou dodged the cables that were fired at him before he delivered a power slice to the midsection of the first tank. The craft slowed, buckled, and then the upper half fell away from the lower, effectively resembling a diver that had been cut down the midsection. But the swordsman didn't stop. He continued his charge, bearing down on the final mecha tank.

The pilot of the tank drove his machine forward before swinging the arm in a wide arc in an effort to hit Ryou. But he jumped over the appendage like he was jumping a fence, clearing it before throwing his sword. It sailed through the air like an arrow, lodging itself in the center of the mecha tank's chest. Instantly the machine slumped over as it's pilot died, impaled through the chest by the blade as well.

Ryou grabbed his sword and yanked it free, allowing the blade to telescope back into the hilt as he sprinted for the others. As he slid like a ball player steeling a base through the makeshift door, Bolin bent a bolder from the factory floor, using it to block off the hole and keep anyone from following them.

"How did you...?" Korra started.

"Airship now, talking later," Ryou said. They made their way back to the surface, and were soon aboard the airship heading back to the city. Asami stood at the rear of the ship, watching as her home slowly shrank into the distance. It was everything she had ever known, and in the span of less then an hour, it was gone.

"Ryou." It was Lin. She was lying on a stretcher as her ribs had taken a nasty blow during the ambush. The blind man stepped forward and knelt by her side. She raised her hand and placed it on his shoulder.

"You came back for me," she said, almost as if she didn't believe it.

"We're family, Lin."

"I know. I've been a fool in that regard, and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't get all sappy on me now, Chief," Ryou said. This earned a small smile from Lin, but it quickly faded.

"I led us straight into that trap, and now my men are on their way to Amon. Tomorrow I'm putting in my resignation first thing," she said.

"What?! You can't give up!" Tenzin said.

"She's not. We don't give up, not ever, not while there are still comrades in the field," Ryou said firmly.

"He's right. I'm not giving up. I'm going to take Amon down my way, outside the law," Lin said before focusing her attention on Ryou, "can I count on your help in this?"

"Of course. Although I don't know how much use an old blind man will be to you," Ryou answered. Lin chuckled, but left it at that. Ryou stood and made his way to the front of the airship, where Korra was standing.

"We lost again," she said.

"I'd call this one a draw, actually," he countered.

"It doesn't matter. Things are only going to get worse from here, aren't they?"

"The darkest moments are always right before the dawn, Korra," he said, "we'll make it through. I promise."

 **And that's a wrap on this chapter. What did you guys think of this chapter? Let me know! Drop a review, leave a PM, say what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	12. Past and Present

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We finally broke a hundred all across the board! Again, thank you all so much for your support. And with that, on with the chapter:**

 _Ryou stood next to the marble coffin, his hand placed upon the lid. The temple he was in was aglow with lit candles and sticks of incense, and yet the warrior ignored it. Resting beside him was a pack, stuffed full of clothing and other things one would need for a long trip. A katana was strapped to his hip, his other hand resting lazily on it's hilt. His hair was longer, coming down to his jaw line, and yet being pulled back into a top knot._

 _"It's true. You are leaving," came a woman's voice from behind him. Turning, Ryou found a middle aged woman standing in the entrance to the temple. Her brown hair came down to her ears, and her green eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and anger._

 _"There are things I've been putting off for years that I need to attend to, questions that must be answered. It's time I address it," he said._

 _"You are needed here. The Warriors..."_

 _"I have no more to teach the Warriors in the way of the sword."_

 _"And the Governor's office?"_

 _"Will be passed to you, or the person of your choosing. All official problems have been settled. The reason you're here is a personal one, is it not?" The woman looked at her feet._

 _"I've already lost one parent this year," she said before looking back up at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm not ready to lose another!" Ryou stepped away from the coffin and placed a hand upon her shoulder._

 _"My beloved daughter. I've watched you grow from a small child into a fully grown woman with a family of her own. You've become a far better woman then either your mother or I could have dreamed. But that also means that you don't need either of us to be there for you anymore."_

 _"I still need a father."_

 _"And I'm not saying that you don't. But in case you haven't noticed, I've not aged a day since you were but a baby swaddled in blankets. There are questions that need answering, and it was your mother's wish that I find those answers," Ryou said. She looked past him to the coffin._

 _"You really do miss her, don't you?" His face fell slightly._

 _"Of course I miss her."_

 _"It's just...I don't think I ever saw you cry. You were stoic, and I could tell that you were far more unhappy, but I never saw you truly express how you felt."_

 _"We all deal with grief in our own ways, Koko. I felt that it was best I keep such things to myself."_

 _"You're allowed to cry when your wife passes away, dad," Koko deadpanned. Ryou simply gave her a tired smile before he embraced her in a firm hug._

 _"You will write, won't you?" she asked._

 _"Of course."_

 _"And you'll come home as often as you can."_

 _"Now who's the parent and who's the child here?" he asked, pulling back to cock an eyebrow at her._

 _"It's only natural for the child to worry about the parent as they get on in age," Koko said with a shrug._

 _"I can handle myself, child. I'll be dead in the ground before I give that up."_

There is something to be said about the phrase 'not appreciating something until it's gone'. For me, my life had be come something of a strange paradox of sorts since I had lost my sight. I was still as active and energetic as ever, and yet I found myself hindered by things that would have normally not been a problem. Like the edge of the small table that I just stubbed my foot on.

"Son of a.." I hissed in pain as I bounced in place, holding my foot as I waited for the stinging sensation in my toes to fade. As much as I hated to admit it, ramming into things wasn't the only problem I was having. I could take down a few mecha tanks, but when it came to little things like shaving, I was all but powerless. Which was why I was here in the first place.

At the moment, I was looking for Korra. My young student/girlfriend had been helping me with little things here and there. And now the facial hair resting on my cheeks and jaw line was getting to the point that it was starting to get annoying. So here I was, making my way toward her room with a razor in my hand.

When my foot finally stopped throbbing, I resumed my walk forward. Arriving at her door, I gave a short knock, but wasn't greeted with a reply. Waiting a moment, I tried again and got the same result.

"Korra?" I asked, opening the door slightly and peaking my head in, listening for any sounds of the occupant. There was nothing, not the sound of breathing, nor the smell of a lily that indicated her presence. The room was deserted. Turning, I began to make my way forward again. It was still fairly early in the morning, so there was only so many places she could be.

As I approached a nearby bathroom, I felt the air in the hallway shift slightly. The damp smell of steam was on the air, indicating that someone had been taking a shower. Or someone's steam heater had burst. But given the lack of people in the hallway I figured the former was more likely. Locating the door, I gave a short quick knock before opening it.

"Korra, you in here?" I asked.

"RYOU!" Korra responded, sounding startled.

"Ah, there you are. I need your help with something real quick."

"Can you wait outside please?!" she sounded distressed, and my ears picked up on the sound of fabric being rearranged. Wait, between the way she was acting and the steam in the air...oh don't tell me.

"You're naked, aren't you?" I asked.

"I'm in a towel," came the terse reply. Yeah that's what I thought.

"Oh. Sorry. I'll wait outside for you to get something on," I said before closing the door. Now I'm not going to lie, but I was really cursing the fact that I couldn't see at that moment. Korra is physically fit and tough as nails, but she's not without her feminine qualities. This was something I found highly attractive in a woman, but it was a combination that was kinda rare.

There was a moment there where I actually found myself kicking the wall in frustration. Part of it was because I was mad at myself. I should have waited until I had gotten a response before opening the door. The other reason was that I was reaching the limits of my frustration. I hadn't fully adapted to being blind, and I was starting to wonder if I ever would. Hell if I could see, I wouldn't be in the situation I was in right now.

The sound of the door opening reached my ears, and I turned my head toward it.

"Okay."

"I'm sorry about bursting in. I should have waited until I heard a response."

"It's alright. It's not like you could see anything anyway. What did you need help with?" she asked. I smiled at that. If she could joke about it, that meant it hadn't bothered her all that much

"I need a little help," I said, holding up my razor.

* * *

"In my defense, I've never had to shave my face before," Korra said as she healed a gash on my cheek. I was sitting with my head cocked head to the side, waiting for her to finish. A few smart assed retorts crossed my mind, but I had learned long ago to not piss off the person who had was applying the bandages.

"I'm just glad Katara passed on her knowledge to someone with a level head on their shoulders," I replied.

"If only it worked on your eyes," she said, her voice sounding a little down at that. Then, like a bolt of lightning, a solution to my current problems stuck me.

"I'm an idiot!" I yelled, hopping to my feet.

"Hey, I didn't do that bad of a job," Korra defended.

"Not that, this!" I said, waving my hand in front of my eyes, "I've been sitting on the solution to this problem the whole damn time and I didn't realize it till now."

"Okay, care to let me in on the secret?" she asked.

"There's a monastery in the mountains, with a spring of Spirit Water," I said.

"Spirit Water is much better at healing then regular water," she noted. Ah, she had paid attention in her healing lessons, good.

"Exactly. I'm gonna go there and get some, and get my eyes fixed," I said.

"Great, when do we leave?" she asked. Wait, what? When did we agree on that? It's not that I didn't want her going, in fact I would have loved for her to come along. But with the Revolution getting to the boiling point that it was at, she was needed here.

"I need you to stay here," I said.

"What? No, I'm going with you!"

"Korra, Amon and his lackeys are getting more and more bold. You're needed here," I argued.

"Ryou, I'm don't want to point out the elephant rhino in the room, but you're blind."

"So?"

"So, you can't even get around here without stubbing your foot on something, how do you plan on climbing a mountain by yourself?" she asked. I sighed. I hadn't wanted to tell her about the Observer's gifts, but it seemed that now I wasn't getting out of it. Raising my left hand, I clenched it into a fist.

Instantly, my vision went from being black to an orange color. It was like looking through a piece of amber. For the first time in almost two weeks, I saw Korra's face. Her hair was down as she regarded me with a concerned expression.

"You look good with your hair down," I said. She blinked, and then looked closer at my eyes.

"Wait, what the...what's up with your eyes?"

"It's a little trick I picked up a long time ago," I said. She waved her hand in front of my face, judging my reaction.

"So all this time you've been able to see?"

"No. It's only temporary. It wears off after a minute or two," I explained.

"That's how you were able to take down those mecha tanks!" she said, the events of the other night finally clicking into place for her. I merely gave her a smile in response, watching as she and the rest of the room faded back into darkness. My heart sank a little at that, but it was what I had come to expect.

"I still feel that I should go with you," she said, taking my hand in hers. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I know. And I am grateful. But this is something I need to do on my own." She let out a sigh, but didn't seem to want to try and continue to convince me. Once I had it in my mind about something, there was no changing it, and she knew it. Continuing to argue would just be a waste of breath.

"Just come back to me whole this time," she said, pulling me into a hug. I raised my arms and returned it, enveloping her in my embrace.

"I will," I promised.

* * *

It was blistering cold, that much he was certain of. The wind howled off the mountain slopes, propelling flakes of snow along with them. Yet Ryou stood against it, bracing as it buffered against him. He was wearing heavier winter clothing, including a jacket with a hood up and a scarf that covered his nose and mouth. In his hands was the walking stick he had taken for himself from Air Temple Island.

His pale eyes looked out over the valley before him. Even though he couldn't see it, he could defiantly feel it. There was something about this place. It radiated not only a sense of power, but of reverence and timelessness as well. In the heart of the valley stood the lone tower of a temple. With another gust of wind, the ageless man began his decent.

Unlike the snow capped areas surrounding it, the spring and grounds around it were unseasonably warm and green. It was like a greenhouse, only no structure at all surrounded the place. Ryou walked towards it, lowering his hood and scarf as he got closer. He breathed in through his nose, savoring both the warmth and the pleasant smells from around him.

"You seem lost, young one," came a female voice to his right. Ryou didn't jump, but rather turned his attention toward the sound of the voice. Approaching him wearing a set of robes that were a combination of green and gold was a woman. Her scalp had been shaved clean, she even moved with the grace of an airbender.

"I am searching for the spring," he replied.

"If you've come seeking to extend your existence, then you have come to the wrong place. Only pain and heartache await those who walk that path."

"I seek only to repair what has been damaged," Ryou said, a hint of knowing in his voice.

"It is against our creed to turn away those who seek healing. Please, this way," the woman said. Ryou followed her, not particularly looking at anything as they walked.

"So there have been others seeking the spring?" he asked.

"Yes. Although the numbers have been rather small in recent decades. As the world has modernized, we have slipped into legend. I think that is how our master would prefer it," the woman explained.

"Your master?"

"Yes. He is the stuff of legend in his own right. An immense man with white hair, he discovered this spring long ago and established this monastery to watch over it. He still comes by from time to time, but only rarely."

"Does this man have a name?" Ryou asked. His face was stoic, so as to hide his true thoughts on the matter.

"He does, but we are not permitted to speak it to outsiders. He prefers his solitude. I'm sure you can understand."

"I do," Ryou answered. The spring itself was a small pool of water surrounded on all sides by rocks. A small waterfall flowed from an opening in the cliff face, keeping the pool level steady with a constant stream of water. Life flourished around the water, despite the harsh winter conditions that were not very far away.

Although Ryou couldn't see it, he could hear it. When he opened his mouth he could taste it on the air. And when he inhaled, he could smell it. This place radiated life, a virtual paradise.

"May I ask, what is it you seek to heal?" the woman asked.

"My eyes."

"Then please, step forward," she instructed. Ryou removed his coat, stepped forward and sank to his knees as if he was meditating. The woman began to move her arms about, and a tendril of water snaked its way from the pool. She kept up this motion until the water wound itself around the swordsman's head, primary covering his eyes.

Inhaling and then exhaling slowly, the woman held her arms out, using her bending to keep the water in place as she moved closer. As her fingertips brushed the water, the liquid began to glow a bright blue color. For several minutes she did her work, her attention never turning away. Finally, she removed the water from Ryou's head and returned it to the pool.

"How are your wounds now?" she asked as he used his coat to dry off his face. Looking up, the swordsman blinked a few times. His eyes, which had been a murky gray color, were now hazel, a mixture of brown and green.

"I can see," he said, a smile gracing his face, "thank you, sister." The woman returned the smile as she slid her hands into the sleeves of her robes.

"It was an honor to help someone who has come so far in life," she said with a small respectful bow. Ryou frowned at that, which did not escape the monk's notice.

"A healer knows their patient. I've never read the chi of someone so old," she explained. Ryou gave a smile and a look of understanding. Healers could learn almost everything they wanted to know about a person physically by reading their chi signatures.

"Not as old as your master, perhaps," he said.

"But old enough. I wish you luck in your travels, wanderer."

* * *

I looked down on the city for the first time in weeks and smiled. It was good to have my sight back. However I found Air Temple Island deserted of anyone I might have been looking for. Korra, her friends, even Tenzin, all of them gone. According to Pema, something had gone down while I was away. Tenzin was currently at City Hall, trying to get things rectified. So City Hall was my next stop.

The airbending master was hard at work in his office when I found him. So much so that he didn't even notice me enter. He jumped about a foot in the air when I slammed my fist down on his desk.

"What. Happened?" I asked.

"Ryou...when did you return? Wait, did you manage to regain your sight?"

"What. Happened?" I asked again. Getting back and finding things in such a state had left me irritable and short tempered.

"Councilman Tarrlok had Korra's friends arrested last night, when Korra confronted him about it, the Equalists attacked and kidnapped her," he explained. Ah, Councilman Tarrlok, I'd heard things about about him. None of them good. From what I could gather the man was a snake and couldn't be trusted in the best of times.

"And you believe him?"

"The Council Hall is in ruins with Equalist weapons, I have yet to see a reason to not believe him," Tenzin said. With that, I turned and began to march out of his office.

"Where are you going?"

"To see this for myself," I said over my shoulder before I walked out the door. Republic City may have been something new, but insurgencies were not. Whether it was the mountains of the Earth Kingdom, or the back allies and sewers of this modern metropolis, all of them were the same at their heart.

I had seen several insurgencies come and go during my time. Some of them were successful, some of them ended in fire and blood. These Equalists were no different then the various warlords and freedom fighters I had encountered during my travels. And that was why I was questioning Tarrlock's story.

When you are the outnumbered force and you make a risky move, such as attacking a command center in order to kidnap someone, you don't just take one person. You take anything and everything you can get your hands on. Which begged the question: if Equalists had attacked and managed to subdue both the Avatar and a Councilman, why was the Councilman left behind?

The scene of the fight only made me question Tarrlok's story more. Sure there were bits of Equalist gear discarded about. But that was just it, it was discarded like it had been placed there on purpose, not left behind during the chaos of a fight. What's more was the damage to the structure of the building itself. The floor had several cracks in it along with a crater, and a wall on the second floor had a complete hole in it. Someone, an earthbender, had gone on a rampage in here. In fact, this looked like my young student's handiwork.

Truth be told I was worried, and angry. More so then I had been in decades. Now the usual response to having someone you cared about being taken was to panic. After a few centuries of practice, I was able to channel this into raw focus. I was gonna find Korra, and anyone involved would be lucky if they survived.

Probing into the office on the second floor revealed more clues. A large waterfall fountain that occupied and entire wall had been ripped up and turned. A bookshelf on the opposite side of the room had been smashed. And in the center of the room I found a few strands of hair. Taking a quick sniff, I was rewarded with the sent of a lily. This was Korra's hair.

"What are you doing in here?" came a voice from behind me. I turned to find a small, bi-speckled, pale skinned man looking at me. This must have been an intern or something, one of the drones that worked here.

"Who's office is this?" I asked.

"Councilman Tarrlok's," he answered. His eyes shifted about and he wrung his hands. Something had this guy on edge. I narrowed my eyes as I regarded him.

"You were here last night, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was helping the Councilman finalize some papers," he said.

"Then you saw what happened." He quickly nodded his head, looking over his shoulder to be sure no one was coming.

"There were no Equalists here, were there?" He shook his head, that look of terror growing on his face.

"Tell me the truth. Did Tarrlok take Avatar Korra?" I asked.

"She came to his office last night, and he told me to leave. I was heading out the back when I saw him loading her into the back of a truck."

"Why didn't you tell Tenzin about this?" I demanded.

"Because...because it's HOW Tarrlok took the Avatar. He's a bloodbender!" Ah, so that explained why he was so fidgety. Bloodbenders were treated like witches with an equal about of fear and loathing for the same reason. What they practiced was considered unnatural at best. The more powerful the bender, the more they could control. And if Tarrlok could do the forbidden art without a full moon? That meant he was one of the most powerful bloodbenders in modern times. I'd only ever encountered one other bloodbender of that power before. Perhaps there was a connection between the two, but I wouldn't know more until I saw this Tarrlok guy in person.

"Does Tarrlok have any private properties on file?" I asked.

"Yes, I believe there is an old hunting cabin in hi s name located in the mountains outside of the city," the intern replied.

"Get me that file, now," I ordered. The intern hurried off, driven by the sternness of my order. His testimony, coupled with what I had seen was enough to give me a different perspective on what had happened here the night before. Korra had confronted Tarrlok about her friends, and the situation had devolved into a bending dual. When the Councilman had lost the upper hand, he'd resorted to bloodbending out of desperation.

This wasn't so much of a planned out endeavor as it was a case of a situation snowballing out of control. The Councilman was trying very desperately to cover his ass, but he was grasping at straws, and he probably didn't even realize it yet.

"The file you requested," the intern said when he returned and handed me a folder. I quickly looked over the contents before I motioned for him to follow me. It was time to give these findings to Tenzin. In the airbender's office, we found Lin and the three others. Tenzin was right in the middle of explaining what he knew to them.

"It was Tarrlok. Amon's lackeys were never here," I said.

"What...how...that's a very bold claim," Tenzin said.

"There's enough evidence out there to say otherwise, not to mention this guy's testimony to back it up," I said, jerking my thumb at the intern.

"Ryou, where have you been?" Lin asked.

"Busy. Tenzin, call Tarrlok and confront him with this," I said, shoving the intern forward before I turned to walk back out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going now?" Asami asked.

"To watch his reaction," I answered. Tenzin, Lin, the intern, and the others went to the center of the Council Hall as they waited for the Councilman in question to arrive. Me? I was leaning against one of the pillars on the second floor, watching the whole situation unfold. If my hunch about Tarrlok was correct, it was best I wasn't in his line of sight if things went south, which I had no doubt they would.

I actually got board waiting. Well, board wasn't exactly the best term. Impatient would be more appropriate. Korra was out there, somewhere, and here I was standing around fiddling with a pocket watch as I waited to get some information. It was frustrating to say the least. Sure, she was the Avatar and if she relied on my training she would be just fine. But I was still worried about her.

Only two other times had I felt this kind of worry about someone in my life. Kyoshi, and Renchin. The two women I had fathered children with. Up until now, I had been kind of going with the flow, sitting back and seeing where this ride took me. But thinking about those two made me rethink about the current young woman in my life. Korra was still young, still finding her way in the world. There was a good chance that her eye would turn away from me as the years went on. And even if she didn't, time would whittle away at her until there was nothing left. Kyoshi had died of old age, and Renchin had turned away from me. Could I stand that kind of heartbreak a third time?

I never really got a chance to figure out an answer as I noticed movement from below. A man of dark complexion wearing Water Tribe clothing was standing before the gathered assembly with his arms raised. All of them appeared to be struggling under some unseen force. Then, one by one, they began to drop like flies.

This was the man everyone seemed to have it out for in some way, shape, or form. This was the infamous Tarrlok, Representative of the Northern Water Tribe, Avatar kidnapper, and bloodbender. As I watched him slowly knock everyone out, I realized that my theory was right. The movements, the style, they were all the same.

Forty years ago, a crime lord, a man named Yakone had been arrested for bloodbending. When found guilty of the crime, he'd tried to use his power to escape, but Aang had stopped him and taken his bending. Rather then heading to prison, the now broken crime boss had vanished without a trace, with some saying he'd fled back to the North.

Between the skill, and the physical resemblance he bore to Yakone, there wasn't a doubt in my mind. Tarrlok was Yakone's son. He'd come to Republic City to finish what his father had started all those years ago. Well, at least he had, anyway. Between taking the Avatar and bloodbending an entire room of witnesses, any chance he had of keeping his position of power was long gone. His only option left now was to run.

Except, he didn't know about me.

As the last of the group, Lin unsurprisingly, blacked out, Tarrlok began to move, heading for the back door of this place. I blinked, appearing directly behind the Councilman. He had no time to react as I grabbed him from behind, firmly clamping my hand over his mouth. I pressed the button on the side of my sword hilt, allowing the blade to telescope out and impale him from behind. Tarrlok let out a muffled scream into my palm as the blade erupted from his chest.

"Hello, son of Yakone," I said, my voice as cold as ice. I yanked the blade free and allowed the Councilman to fall to his knees. He was gasping for air and his hands clutched over the gaping hole in his chest. I walked around to his front so that he could see who had done this to him. He looked up at me, confusion, pain, and much more prevent, fear were present in his eyes. I wasn't worried about him trying to bloodbend me. His wounds wouldn't allow that.

"How..."

"I was at your father's trial in this very room many years ago. At one point, I had him in the same position I have you in now. However I was convinced to spare his life. I won't make the same mistake with you," I said, holding up my now crimson blade and pointing it at him.

"If you..kill me, you'll never find...the Avatar," he panted.

"You have a hunting cabin in the mountains not far from here. I know exactly where Korra is," I countered. Tarrlok's eyes filled with rage before they bugged out of his head. His focus on me was so intense that I started to think a vein that stuck out of his forehead would burst. He was trying to bloodbend me without the use of his arms. Yet another nail in the coffin that he was Yakone's son. Lucky for me, my sword thrust had gone through the junction point of chi in his body, effectively cutting off his ability to bend.

"You'll find that you'll never be able to bend again," I said. Fury filled his eyes.

"Why you insolent..." I silenced him with a wide swipe from my sword. For a moment he stared at me, his mouth hanging open as if he had been frozen mid sentence. Then his body fell over onto its side, and his head rolled away across the marble floor. With a twirl, I collapsed the blade and returned the hilt to my belt. One less enemy to deal with now.

After checking the others to ensure that they were indeed only knocked out, I went out back of City Hall and found a truck waiting. This was Tarrlok's transportation into the mountains. Well it was, it was mine now. I climbed into the cab and started the vehicle before heading in the direction of the cabin.

It took a little longer then I figured to get up to the cabin as a snowstorm had settled in over the mountains. By the time I pulled up out front of the place, it was late afternoon and gray with thick snow flakes falling. The place looked like it had been abandoned years ago, run down from years of neglect. It sat on a ridge, overlooking a pine filled valley below.

I climbed out of the truck, leaving it running as I walked into the place. It smelled musty, like no one had bothered to crack a window in a decade. Surprisingly though it was well insulated, with the cold of the storm outside not penetrating it's wooden walls. In the basement, I found a metal box about the size of a refrigerator sitting in the center of the room with a single light hanging over it.

"Back so soon? I know how you bloodbend without a full moon, Tarrlok. You're Yakone's son," came Korra's voice from inside the box. I paused and folded my arms as I regarded the metal door before me. I was able to deduce this based on what I had seen. But Korra? Korra had never been around Yakone. He'd long vanished by the time he was born.

No. No, wait, she had been around Yakone, just as a different person. If she was able to come up with this while being trapped in this box the whole time, that meant she had somehow remembered things that had happened to Aang. The ghost of a smile graced my lips. Finally, finally she was having some progress.

"If I had known all it took for you to make a connection was to lock you up, we could have made contact with all your past lives by now," I said. There was silence, followed by scraping sounds which indicated that she was moving around in there.

"Ryou?" I opened the door on the box and flashed her a grin.

"Who else?" She launched herself at me, flinging her arms around my neck and planting a kiss firmly on my lips. The force of her move almost knocked us off balance, but I managed to catch us from falling as I wrapped my arms around her and returned the kiss. Relief flooded throughout the entirety of my being. I had her back, she was safe. Korra broke the kiss and leaned back to look at me.

"How...how did," she paused as she noticed my eyes, placing her hand on my cheek, "wait, your eyes. The spring worked, didn't it?"

"You look good, Korra," I said with a smile. She returned the smile and hugged me again.

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked. A creak from the floorboards overhead caused us both to glance up. We weren't alone in this cabin.

"A question best answered at another time," I whispered and she nodded.

"You four retrieve the Avatar, I'll locate the Councilman. Do not underestimate her, electrocute the box before opening it." It was Amon's voice. I looked around quickly, taking in our surroundings. There was no other way out of this basement except up the stairs I had just come down. We were trapped down here, and outnumbered. We'd need surprise on our side.

"My pleasure," came the voice of Amon's second in command. Noticing some crates stacked nearby, I motioned to them and Korra nodded in understanding. We ducked behind the wooden boxes as the four Equalists descended the stairs. The Lieutenant drew his electrified staffs and sparked them.

"It's payback time," he said before applying them to the box. Electricity passed throughout the box, causing the light hanging overhead to shatter. After almost thirty seconds of applying the current to the metal, he removed the sticks and took a step back, ordering one of his subordinates to open the box. I waited a heartbeat, then two as they opened the box to find nothing at all.

"What the..." I tapped Korra once on the shoulder, giving her the signal to act. She jumped out from behind the crates and slammed her fist into the floor. A wave passed through the concrete, taking the Equalists by surprise and scattering them like rag dolls. We didn't stick around to see the results of her handiwork as we sprinted up the stairs and out of the cabin. Korra didn't even bother to open the front door, opting to plow through it at full speed.

Outside we found a second truck parked a short distance away from the one I had arrived in. We also found the man himself, standing in the middle of the snowstorm like he was waiting on us. Korra planted her feet, skidding a short distance before bending several streams of water from the snow, turning them into shards of ice and launching them at Amon.

The Equalist leader darted forward, dodging the incoming projectiles as he came. I didn't stop, forcing Korra to run ahead of me as we went. We both climbed into the driver's side of the truck, with Korra sliding across the seat to make room for me. I slammed the door closed and threw the vehicle into reverse before slamming the gas pedal to the floor.

The truck lurched backwards at a high rate of speed, but Amon was quick. He managed to grab onto the door mirror and pull himself onto the running board. I found myself face to face with the masked man, looking him dead in the eye. There was a cool confidence there. He knew he had the upper hand, that he could win if he wanted.

Or so he thought.

I plowed my foot into the door, forcing it to fly open. The Equalist leader, clinging to the metal frame, had no time to react as the door slammed into the front grill of the other truck. At this speed the door was completely ripped off, leaving it and Amon behind in the snow.

I slowed the truck and turned it, shifting gears so that we were going forward rather then rolling backward down the mountainside. Korra was breathing heavily as the effects of the adrenaline began to wear off.

"You are just full of surprises," she finally said.

"I aim to please," I replied.

"So what happens now?" she asked, looking back to see if we were being followed.

"Now we go home and brace ourselves."

"Why?"

"Amon was there for both you and Tarrlok. If he's bold enough to try and take both of you, that means he's gutsy enough to enter his endgame," I said.

"What does that mean?" I looked at her.

"He'll try to take Republic City for himself."

 **And that's a wrap. Next chapter, we move on into Amon's endgame. This will probably be the last chapter that alternates between first and third POV for a while, seeing as how Ryou has his sight back now. So, you all know the drill. Read, review, drop a PM, ask questions or state theories. Let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	13. The Tides of War

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We're moving on into the Book One finale. Also, I have some announcements to make at the end of the chapter so be sure to stick around for that. So without further delay, let's get on with it:**

I was greeted with the grayness of morning as I opened my eyes. Winter had well and truly set in by now, which meant that the mornings were cold and gray, the evenings were cold and gray, actually all day was cold and gray. As was such in this part of the world. A vast majority of the coastal regions along the Mo Ce Sea were like this during the winter months, which was why Ember Island was such a popular vacation spot.

As I went to get up, I noticed a weight on my arm, pinning me to the bed. I narrowed my eyes in confusion and looked down to find the top of Korra's head. She was lying with her head on my chest as she slept. Her hair was down as she breathed softly, having not awoken yet. It took a moment for the sleep to clear and for me to remember the night before.

After getting back to the city and informing everyone what was going on, I had elected to go straight to bed. The strain of a long journey, coupled with Tarrlok's beheading and our narrow escape from Amon was enough to make anyone tired. Korra had come to my room later, after everyone had gone to bed.

Now before you go making assumptions, the answer is no, we didn't do anything. The encounter with Amon, on top of the experience of being kidnapped by an insane bloodbender was a little taxing on her and she had simply come seeking my presence as a way to relax. We'd fallen asleep together, apparently.

I shifted my shoulder slightly and tried to slide out from under her, but Korra groaned in her sleep before latching on to me, pulling me in closer to her. Considering how things had been a few months ago when we were looking for Bolin, I couldn't help but smile. Regardless, I still tried to wiggle free without actually waking her.

It felt nice, sharing a bed with someone again after a long time. But, as much as I didn't want this to end, I still had things to do. Like my morning workout routine, and answering nature's call, you know, the important stuff. Korra moaned again and further tightened her grip on me, burring her face in my neck and slinging her leg across mine. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that her sleeping form was so determined to keep me in place that she was basicly laying on top of me.

I leaned forward and kissed the top of her forehead. Somehow, after everything that I had tried so far, THIS was what brought her out of her slumber. Cyan blue eyes slowly opened and looked up at me.

"Morning," I said, smiling down at her. She blinked, and I could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to clear the sleep from her mind. Suddenly her eyes went wide and she sat up straight.

"Did we...?!" she asked before looking down as the blanket fell away from her. She was wearing a pair of trousers and an undershirt for pajamas.

"No, we didn't, as you can tell," I replied. She breathed a sigh of relief before her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean...it's not that I don't want..."

"Korra, relax. We'll get to that point when you are ready," I reassured, placing my hand on her upper arm.

"It's just...your my first boyfriend. I've never done anything..."

"Relax. You forget, I was once like you. Nervous, unsure of myself," I said. She fell silent at that. A lot of people, particularity the ones that knew me really well, tended to forget that I had a normal upbringing just like everyone else. The only difference was, while everyone reached their twilight years and eventually passed on into the eternal night, I was still here.

"Wasn't Kyoshi your first?" she asked. I gave her a pointed look.

"Come on. I didn't meet her until I was twenty," I said.

"And my question still stands."

"No. She wasn't. I had a girlfriend or two before her."

"So why her? What was it about Kyoshi that kept you around for so long?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know the inner workings of one of your past lives' sexual escapades?" I asked. Her face turned red as a tomato as a look of horror came over her face. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight as I got up.

"I'd slip out the window if I were you and I didn't want to get caught," I said. Korra looked at the window before looking at the door, debate clearly on her mind.

"You know, I'm not sure I really care if they find out about us or not," she said. I shrugged.

"I don't either. Personally the only reason I'm holding off is cause I don't want to deal with the drama that will come with it," I explained. She got up and gave me a hug and a short kiss.

"So we'll tell everyone soon?" she asked.

"Whenever you want. Just be prepared to deal with the consequences," I warned. She smirked, gave me a final peck on the lips before slipping out the window. I watched her go before heading down to the kitchen in order to get something for breakfast. Pema was there, cooking what was a fairly decent sized meal.

"Oh, Ryou. Good morning," she said.

"Pema," I greeted as I grabbed and apple and took a large bite of the fruit.

"Breakfast will be ready shortly. Oh, I forgot to tell you yesterday, a package arrived for you," she said, waving toward a small wooden crate that sat in a nearby corner. I gave her a puzzled look before making my way over to the box.

It was the size of a small footlocker and painted a faded olive drab color. The thing looked old and worn, like it had seen more then its fare share of travel. There was no markings, no return address, nothing to indicate where it had come from. Setting my apple to the side, I undid the latches and opened the box slowly, unsure of what I would find.

Inside, I found two things. The first was a black kodachi, and the second was a smooth, black oval stone. I picked up the short sword first and unsheathed it. The blade was highly polished and razor sharp, allowing me to see my reflection in it's curved shape. I resheethed the sword and looked into the box again, noticing a piece of paper contained inside.

Setting the sword down, I picked up the paper, unfolded it and began to read. It didn't take long for me to recognize the hand writing, which caused the ghost of a smile to grace my lips.

 _'My old friend,_

 _'I'm sure that you're wondering how I even managed to guess where you would be. Let me just say that news travels quickly these days. And frankly, you are predictable. I've had a feeling deep down in my bones that you would have a need for the sword soon. I'm sure you recognize it. You did help forge it, after all._

 _As for the stone, I'm sure you recognize what it is as well. The Masters feel that it's time, and I have to agree with them. Times are changing, and not necessary for the better. I have a feeling that you'll have a use for it as well._

 _Until we see each other again,_

 _Zuko'._

I smirked at the sight of the signature and the official seal at the bottom of the paper. Should have guessed it would have been him. He was getting too perceptive in his old age. Picking up the sword again, I realized that he was right, I did recognize it. It was a gift I had given to Suki on her wedding day. It was forged from Sozinite, making it not only incredibly strong but also immune to metalbending.

Setting the blade down, I turned my attention to the stone. It was oval shaped and a deep midnight black, almost purple in color. Picking it up, I ran my hand over it's smooth surface. It felt warm and pulsed under my touch, causing yet another smile to form on my face. Zuko was right, I did know what this stone was. It may have been a couple hundred years since I had last seen one, but it was the same as I remembered.

"What did you get?" Pema asked curiously. I returned both the sword and stone to the crate before closing it again.

"Gifts from an old friend," I answered before picking the crate up and taking it back to my room. The stone was large enough that I needed a messenger bag to carry it around. I wasn't about to leave it laying around, not with everything that was going on. A knock came at the door as I was looking the sword over again.

"Hey, Tenzin is heading to City Hall. He thinks Amon is entering his endgame and he's going to organize a defense of the city," Korra said as she opened the door. She had changed into her day clothes, and was wearing her winter parka.

"I take it you told them what happened," I said.

"Yeah. I told them everything, even the part about Tarrlok being Yakone's son. Which how did you know that, by the way?" she asked.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Aang showed me some visions about Yakone's trial...oh," she said. I cocked my eyebrow at her.

"Oh?"

"I just realized, I saw you in those visions. You saw everything I saw," she said. I couldn't help but smirk at that.

"It's different from a few pictures, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a little weird," she agreed. With that, I raised the sword and offered it to her. She took it and looked it over.

"Where did you get this?"

"Came in the mail. A certain former Fire Lord seems to think I'll get some use out of it," I said.

"Are you going to use it?" she asked.

"No. I've already got one," I said, patting my sword hilt, "but you seem to be lacking in that department." She looked up at me with shock in her eyes.

"Really?"

"You've mastered the basics. You're ready for the next part of your training. You've more then earned the right to carry this weapon," I said. Korra looked from me to the sword in her hands with a sense of awe and reverence. She raised it to eye level and unsheathed it. The morning light caught the blade, making it shine like a pillar of ice.

Korra twisted it one way, and then another. Gone were the clumsy movements of a girl whom had never held a blade before, replaced by those of an experienced master.

"It's beautiful," she noted.

"Forged from Sozinite. It's one of the strongest blades in existence, and it's impervious to metalbending," I said with pride. She sliced, hacked, and even reversed her grip a time or two in order to get the full balance of the weapon. After a few minutes of testing, she sheathed the blade before turning and bowing to me.

"Thank you, Master Ryou," she said. I was surprised to say the least. This was the first time she had ever called me Master. I smiled and returned the bow.

The sound of distant thunder reached our ears. I straightened myself out and listened intently. It was winter, thunderstorms never occurred this time of year. Another clap, and I realized that it wasn't thunder, but an explosion. I threw open the window, and was greeted with the sight of the city skyline.

Black trails of smoke were drifting upwards, and you could easily see the explosions of bombs going off in several different places. Tenzin had been right. Amon was going into his final phase. A final, all out assault on the city in an effort to overthrow the current establishment. I knew a situation when I saw one. From now on, there would be no holding back on any side.

"We have to do something," Korra said as she stuck the sword through her belt.

"Get the others and meet out in the courtyard," I instructed. She hurried off to do as I asked while I took a final look around my room. I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing it again for a long time. Making sure that I had what few things I couldn't live without with me, I headed out to the courtyard. Lin, several Acolytes, and a few White Lotus members were standing around, watching the attack unfold.

"Why is it whenever you show up, things happen?" Lin asked as I stood next to her and folded my arms.

"Your mother asked me that question a lot when we first got this place up and running," I said.

"And what did you tell her?"

"Shit happens, I guess," I answered with a shrug. Whatever retort she was going to come up with was interrupted by Korra and the others coming outside.

"We're going into the city to find Tenzin," she said.

"Alright. Ryou and I will stay here and guard the Island," Lin answered.

"How will he do that? Isn't he, ya know, blind?" Bolin asked. I glared at the earthbender before raising my hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up, blockhead?" I asked, holding aloft a lone middle finger.

"I'll explain later on that, we need to go, now," Korra said, ignoring me. With that, Korra and her friends made their way toward the ferry to the mainland, leaving Lin and myself behind as the sole guardians of the Island. Well, the White Lotus were here, but they didn't count.

For a while, we stood and watched as the attack on the city unfolded. After a few hours, it was becoming clear that the Equalists were winning. The police airships that were usually hovering over the skyline were being taken out, replaced by their red Equalist counterparts. Pema, the airbending kids, and several Acolytes had come outside and were watching the chaos unfold.

As we watched, a pair of airships broke off from the main cluster and began to come straight toward us. I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Air Temple Island was the last bastion of airbenders on the planet. That made it one of Amon's top targets, and a spot that I was willing to defend to the last.

"Everyone, hide inside and remain calm," Lin ordered. As if on cue, Pema let out a scream of pain, bending over and cluching her stomach.

"Pull it together, Pema! Didn't I just say remain calm?"

"The baby's coming!" the pregnant woman screeched.

"Not now, baby!" Meelo yelled. Two midwifes came forward and rushed the family inside, leaving just Lin and myself to face the oncoming threat alone.

"Are you ready for this?" Lin asked as the first airship came to a halt and fired a cable into the hillside, securing itself in place. I drew my sword handle and extended the blade.

"I abandoned the airbenders once before, there's no way I'm going to do that again," I answered as a group of Equalists began to zipline down the cable, landing on the Island. The group came charging up the stairs, being led by Amon's Lieutenant.

I charged forward before sliding on my knees, avoiding the wide arc of his electrified sticks as he swung with the intention of clothes lining me. We came up, locking my sword and his sticks together so that we were face to face. Electricity crackled along the length of the blade, and the leather wrap that was around the hilt began to heat up beneath my hand.

"Nice mustache," I grunted before headbutting him, breaking the lock. He fell back and shook his head in an effort to clear it. Around us, Lin was using her earthbending to fend off his comrades, leaving us to have our duel uninterrupted. The Lieutenant twirled his sticks before taking a ready stance.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said with a grin before charging forward. With that, we entered into this weird deadly dance. He swung and swiped his sticks at me, trying to land a hit. I was using my blade to deflect any hits I wouldn't be able to dodge. Having seen how much power those things contained, I was absolutely not going to let one of them touch me.

He swung at my legs and I jumped, cleared the swipe before countering, bringing my sword down toward his head like a wood chopper splitting a log. The Lieutenant brought his sticks up, crossing them over his head and catching my blade. He kicked me in the knee cap, breaking our second deadlock and forcing me to retreat.

The Lieutenant pressed his attack, delivering powerful blows as he tried to break through my defense. Despite being forced onto the back foot, I held off his attacks. It wasn't that hard, actually. All I had to do was hold out while he tired himself out. Sure enough, his breathing began to become more ragged, and I saw my opening.

He over extended himself, trying to jab one of his staffs into my chest. I sidestepped before driving my elbow into his face, sending him reeling backwards. Just as I brought my sword up, intending to drive it through his heart, a blast of air impacted us both, sending us sprawling. What the...where the hell did THAT come from?

"Stay away from my dad's ex girlfriend's grandfather!" Jinora yelled as she came swooping past on a glider. The girl landed and sent a blast of air out with her folded up glider, sending the Lieutenant flying over a building. I was on my feet in an instant, holding my sword at the ready to face any new threat. At that moment, Ikki came zooming by on an air scooter.

"Get off our Island!" With that, she plowed through a group of Equalists like a bowling ball through the pins.

"Girls, you shouldn't be out here!" Lin yelled as she launched an Equalist into the air with her earthbending.

"TASTE MY FURY!" Meelo shouted as he jumped from the roof, landing his rear on an Equalist's face and unleashing a blast of air. I watched, dumbstruck, as this bald, snot nosed five year old took down a group of foot soldiers with his farts. It's official, now I've seen everything. His grandfather would have been proud.

With that, we rounded up the Equalists and tied them all together with rope. At least something had gone right on this gray shitty day. I had to admit, I was impressed with what the airbending kids had pulled off. They were well trained, on their way to becoming masters in their own rights. The future of the Air Nomads was in good hands.

The grumble of a sky bison caught my attention. Oogi touched down in the courtyard, carrying Tenzin and the entirety of the Team. Korra came up to me right away, a look of worry on her face. I gave her a smile of reassurance.

"We're alright," I said. She looked out over the city skyline, watching as another pair of airships began to cross the bay.

"But for how long?" she asked. I didn't answer, but rather turned and headed inside. We found Tenzin and his family sitting in a side bedroom, all of them looking down at the little bundle cradled in the airbending master's arms. It was a beautiful moment in an otherwise bleak situation.

"I'm so sorry to interupt, but more airships are coming," Korra said, stepping forward.

"Everything's not going to be fine, is it daddy," Ikki said, looking up at her father. Tenzin didn't answer, but rather handed his newborn son back to his wife before ordering the Air Acolytes to start the evacuation. We all went back outside and watched as the airships approached.

"I need to protect my family and get them as far away this conflict as possible. If Amon got his hands on them...I hate to even think about it," Tenzin said.

"If you're leaving, I'm coming with you," Lin said.

"But..."

"No buts!" I interrupted, "you are the last airbenders. And Lin is the best protection you're going to get. She goes with you, end of discussion."

"I...thank you. Both of you. Korra, I want you to leave this island and hide for the time being," Tenzin said, turning his attention to the Avatar.

"I'm not giving up!" she said, her hand falling to her new sword.

"I'm not asking you to. I got word out to the United Forces, once my family is safe I'll return, and with the reinforcements we can take back the city." Korra looked between her airbending master and the city.

"We be patient, wait for the right time to strike," she said, focusing her attention on me. Tenzin nodded and smiled.

"You're learning well." As the Acolytes finished loading up the sky bison, I took my chance to approach Tenzin. He was overseeing the loading of Pema onto Oogi.

"You know that sky bison can't outrun airships," I said. It wasn't a question, but a cold hard fact. The airbending master sighed and looked down without turning to face me.

"I know. But it's the only chance we got," he said.

"I'll cause a distraction, give you enough time to get away."

"Ryou, I can't ask you to do that. You need to protect Korra."

"Korra can handle herself, I would have never given her that sword if I felt she couldn't."

"We already have Lin watching over us. You shouldn't sacrifice yourself so easily," Tenzin argued. I looked down at my boots and let out a short sigh.

"Tenzin I didn't stop Sozin when I had the chance, and the airbenders were nearly wiped out because of that. Afterward, I swore an oath to ensure that airbending would not go extinct. Lin exists because I tried to keep that oath. And today, I'm still keeping that oath," I said. Tenzin looked resigned as he finally turned to face me. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince me otherwise.

"Good luck, old friend," he said, giving me a pat on the shoulder before he climbed onto the sky bison. I turned and found myself face to face with Korra. She looked uneasy, for which I couldn't blame her. She'd just heard her boyfriend basicly declare that he was going to make a last stand in order to ensure everyone got away.

"So what's your plan?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Cause chaos, get everyone's eye on me while everyone important slips away."

"That's not a very smart plan," she said. I gave her a smile.

"Never said it was. Oh, by the way, I need you to hang on to this for me," I said as I unslung the messenger bag from around my neck and handed it to her. Curiosity got the better of her and she peaked inside before looking up at me with a skeptical look.

"A rock?"

"An egg," I corrected.

"Containing what?"

"You'll see soon enough, it's due to hatch any time now. I want you to take it and head to the tunnels beneath the city. Hide there, and I'll come to you," I instructed. Korra slung the bag around her before looking down at her boots again. She clearly didn't want to leave me behind. But, regardless of what she wanted, we were out of time as the lead airship fired a cable, securing it to the island.

"Let's go, people!" Bolin yelled as the sky bison took off and began to fly in different directions. Korra reached up and grabbed my head before pulling me into a kiss. This may have been the last time she saw me, so it was clear that she didn't care who saw anymore.

"I love you," she whispered before turning and running with the others. I watched her go before turning my attention to the oncoming foot soldiers. There were no kids watching, no young girlfriend to shelter, no one left but me. Now I could go all out if I wanted. It hadn't been since the war that I had an opportunity like this, to fully test my skills in combat. I waited as the foot soldiers surrounded me.

"You're surrounded, surrender quietly!" a ranking officer yelled. I looked around, unable to see any of their faces do the gas masks they were wearing. They must have been stunned, because I actually smiled before looking toward the one that spoke with a wolfish grin. The poor bastards had me surrounded.

"The only thing I'm surrounded by is dead men," I answered. With that, I extended the blade on my sword before raising it in a salute, holding it straight up and down before my face, before lowering it off to the side. The Equalists descended upon me like a horde, and I started swinging. Blood sprayed, men screamed, and I jumped headfirst into the fray, holding nothing back.

* * *

Korra stood at the entrance to the drainage tunnel, looking toward Air Temple Island. The sky was gray, making it impossible to tell what time it was by the sun. She couldn't believe how fast it had come crashing down. Just that morning, everything had been fine. And now, the Equalists controlled the city, her boyfriend was missing in action, and she was in hiding.

Thunder rumbled through the sky as a storm threatened to break loose. It matched her mood perfectly. She wanted to go back, to find Ryou. But the airships were still hovering over the Island. The Equalists had secured it for themselves, and he was no where to be found. It was one against several, and as fantastic as Ryou may have been with a blade, even he had his limits.

"Korra, we should get moving," Mako said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She readjusted the strap on the bag before she nodded numbly. With that, they all turned and began to walk into the tunnel. Asami fell in step next to her.

"He'll be alright Korra. If what you said about him is true, he's bound to have faced way worse then this," the heiress said. The Avatar gave her a thankful smile.

"Thanks, Asami," she said. As she walked, Korra noticed the messenger bag shift and sway. It wasn't from the motion of her walking, it was because of the stone inside shifting about. Curious, she reached down and opened the flap on the bag. However instead of a black stone, she was greeted with a pair of large golden eyes.

She tried to yelp in surprise, but all that came out of her throat was a strangled peep. It was small, well smallish anyway, taking up the length of her hand and about half of her forearm. The large golden eyes regarded her with curiosity, while it's whiskers probed the bag around it, getting a feel for it.

"Hey Korra what's...what is that?!" Bolin yelped in surprise when he noticed the hatchling poking it's head out of the bag. The others looked at it with just as much curiosity as it looked at them with.

"But...they're suppose to be extinct," Asami said.

"Apparently not," Mako noted.

"But what IS it?" Bolin asked. Korra held out her finger cautiously, allowing it to sniff her but all to ready to pull away should it try to bite. It smelled her before rubbing it's head up against her affectionately.

"A dragon, Bolin. It's a dragon hatchling," she answered as she scratched under it's chin.

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter. Don't you just love cliffhangers? Anyway, I have some things I'd like to discuss with you guys.**

 **The first thing on my list is the future of this story. Now I intend to cover all the way through Book Four without actually starting any new stories, keeping it all under a single title. But I can't say the original frame of events in the series will survive, because frankly there are some parts I'd just rather avoid all together.**

 **Also, I'm considering a prequel of Ageless, set during events of ATLA. You guys let me know if you want to see this come about or not, and I'll let you know what the result was along with any other updates regarding it next chapter.**

 **But you all know this song and dance by now. Read, review, or drop a PM, and I'll see you all next time.**


	14. End of the Beginning

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Here we are with the end of Book One. As always, I can't thank you guys enough for your support. Now, let's get on with it:**

You know, last stands are often something that are romanticized. It's a highly honorable act to hold off a horde of foot soldiers for your friends. Songs have been sung and tales have been told about such acts since humans could first tell stories. However, if you ever find yourself in this situation, I have a recommendation for you.

Don't.

Seriously, last stands work out best when the person making the stand dies. If not, they usually wind up wounded to the point that death would be preferred. I'll give you all three guesses as to what state I found myself in.

Don't ask me how I managed to escape the onslaught of the Equalists, or got back to the mainland. All of that is a blur. What I do know is that when I came to, I was bruised and battered to the point that I could barely walk. Somehow, I'd managed to find my way into the tunnels beneath the city before I collapsed.

When I came to again, it was because there was something rough and wet being drug repeatedly across my face. I opened my eyes to find a black triangular face looking down at me. It was a dragon, a hatchling to be exact. It's large golden eyes looked down on me with curiosity as it cocked it's head to the side.

"Hey, get off him," came a female voice off to my side. I turned my head to the side and found Korra crouched over me. She shooed the hatchling away with a wave of her hand. The dragon snapped it's jaws at her playfully before leaping off my chest. With that, she bent a large blob of water from a bucket and began to apply it to my bruises.

"Spirits, Ryou, what did you get yourself into?" she asked.

"Nice to see you too, beautiful," I answered.

"Why is it that every time I turn around I seem to be patching you up?" she asked. I tried to shrug, but grimaced in pain at the attempt.

"Guess we're just that lucky," I said before turning my attention to the hatchling that was in the corner. It was diving through a pile of rags like a cat playing with a mouse. At last, Korra finished with her healing and I was able to sit up without too much pain.

"How did you get your hands on a dragon egg, of all things?" she asked, watching as the dragon came up with a rat tail hanging out of its mouth. Like it was slurping a noodle, the hatchling swallowed it whole before licking its chops.

"A few centuries of wandering around looking for adventure? You'd be surprised what I have stashed out in the far flung corners of the world," I answered. She gave a small smile at that. I held out my hand and the hatchling came over and sniffed my outstretched fingers. After a short moment, it scampered up my arm and settled into a roosting spot on my shoulder.

"What are you going to name him?" she asked.

"Her," I corrected. It may have been a long time, but I still knew dragon anatomy.

"Okay, her. What are you going to name her?"

"Ashe," I answered. For the first time, I took a good look at our surroundings. We were in a makeshift construction, a hut built from various bits of building material that had been found. There was no way it would pass any kind of building code, which meant we were in a hobo commune of some sort.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Somewhere beneath Dragon Flats, I think," Korra answered, "we stumbled across them the first night after we left Air Temple Island."

"How long have I been out?"

"About a week. You were in pretty bad shape when we found you." I got to my feet and felt the muscles pop in my back. Making sure that my sword hilt was strapped to my hip, I stepped outside of the makeshift shack and looked around. Homeless people, men and women in rags, were all over the place. Yet, despite the state of clothing and building material, they were a happy sort. Unlike things up on the surface, where the tension had gotten so thick that you could cut it with a knife, here things were peaceful. It was like the war on the surface didn't exist.

The others in the Team were there. Mako and Asami were cuddled up near a fire, while Bolin fed Pabu some nuts. At the sight of Korra and I, they all perked up.

"You're awake," Asami said as they got to their feet.

"I'm fine. Not the worst thing I've had happen to me," I said, absentmindedly rubbing the scars next to my eyes from where Takeko's blade had struck me. We all sat around the fire and began to think about what to do next.

"So what do we do now?" Korra asked.

"The United Forces should arrive in the morning. We need to be ready to help them," Mako said.

"And if that fails?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'if that fails?' This is the United Forces we're talking about, they can handle a few chi blockers," Bolin said.

"Amon has demonstrated that he is a master tactician thus far. You'd better believe that he has a plan, because he's not going to let Republic City go without a fight," I warned.

"We need to have a way to take Amon down if attacking him directly won't work," Korra realized.

"But we don't even have that," Bolin said, "we still don't know how that masked psycho does what he does." Korra looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, as if expecting me to know the answer.

"What?"

"I know you think you have it figured it out," she said.

"You think because I have walked this Earth longer then almost anyone, that I will know what sort of parlor trick Amon is playing?" I asked.

"You know more then anyone I have ever met," she answered. I let out a sigh and lowered my head. She knew me better then I would have liked to admit.

"It's just that, a parlor trick. Amon is using bloodbending to rewrite a bender's chakuras so that they can't bend," I said.

"How do you know that?" Mako asked.

"Taking a person's bending is done in one of three ways: chi blocking, energybending, and manipulation of the energy pathways in the body. The first is temporary, the second has a glow to it, that leaves only the third," I explained.

"So what will you do?" Korra asked.

"My focus is not on Amon, but Takeko. She is well trained as an assassin, and is more of a threat then the masked man," I said.

"So you'll go after the woman who blinded you."

"And if Amon crosses path with me, I'll take his head as well," I finished.

* * *

Sleep evaded me. Not surprising, considering I had just spent the past week being dead to the world. So while the others slept, I saw up next to the fire, poking it lightly with a stick. Ashe played in the shadows for a while, hunting mice and other rodents. Eventually she settled into a slumber while perched on my shoulder. I didn't mind, the hatchling was a welcome ball of warmth.

It was later into the night when I realized that I had company sitting by the fire. Asami was on the other side, her knees folded into her chest as she watched the flames dance. The heiress looked lost, forlorn almost. Honestly I couldn't blame her. She'd lost everything she'd known within the span of a few weeks.

"Can't sleep either?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I've got a lot on my mind." I reached into my pack and produced something I hadn't had a need for in months. A small tin pot, along with a few cups.

"Isn't it a little late for tea?" Asami asked when she saw me getting things together.

"I'm not making tea. You ask me, tea is terrible when it's steaming hot. A drink best served cold," I said as I finished mixing the various grounds together and placed the pot over the fire.

"What are you making then?"

"Coffee." She got a confused look on her face.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, coffee."

"What is coffee?" she asked.

"It's a drink similar to tea, but stronger. It's quite popular in the villages and trading centers lining the Si Wong Desert," I explained. I'd first encountered the drink in my travels shortly after Kyoshi's passing. Back then, it had been limited to the desert regions. Over time though, it had spread over much of the southern Earth Kingdom. The royal court in Omashu enjoyed highly refined versions of it, usually with large amounts of cream, sugar, or other additives. Trading caravans preferred a more grotesque version like I was making now.

"It smells good," Asami commented as the pot began to come to a boil. I gave a smile and began to pour us both a cup.

"So tell me, what troubles you?" I inquired.

"I don't want to bother you with my personal issues," she said, trying to wave me off.

"We have time, might as well spill," I countered, offering her a cup. She took it, being careful not to burn herself on the warm metal sides.

"It's just...I knew that my mother's death effected my father, but I never knew just how much of his anger had consumed him," she said.

"Life is about loss. We all must deal with it at some point or another. It's how we deal with it that defines us," I said. Asami's posture didn't change, but rather she continued to stare at the fire, only now she had a steaming cup in her hands.

"I forgot. You're an immortal, you must know loss more then anyone," she said.

"Ageless, not immortal," I corrected.

"Whatever," she said sullenly.

"You don't believe me."

"Of course I don't believe you. The whole thing sounds ludicrous at best," she dismissed. I sat in silence for a while, contemplating how to go forward from here.

"Thirty odd years ago, I was visiting the city after a long bout of traveling and decided to get my boots shined. There was this eighteen year old kid, bright, enthusiastic, and as dirt poor as you could get. He kept chatting me up about this idea he had, to create a more efficient way to produce things. Finally I got so tired of listening to him that I paid him a thousand yuan tip just so he'd shut up. And you know what he did with that money? He built a virtual empire out of it." Asami had sat up during the story and was staring at me wide eyed.

"I've never heard a new person having heard that story, much less them telling it. My father loved telling that story," she said.

"We are all capable of many things. Sometimes all we need is a little push," I said. I don't know if I managed to convince her I was telling the truth. At that moment, we settled into a comfortable silence, just happy to have someone else to lean on.

* * *

I wasn't there for when Sato and his new flying machines bombed the First Fleet into oblivion. Even for all of my skills, the way of the sword has limits in modern combat. I wouldn't have been any use to them even if things had gone smoothly. Instead, I focused on infiltrating the Equalist ranks and tracking down my old foe.

Tracking Takeko proved to be more difficult then I originally thought. The Red Archer was always on the move, and yet never straying very far from Amon himself. Amon was smart enough to keep moving should someone try to assassinate him, but he would have to show himself to his followers eventually in order to announce his victory to the world. That was how he would be able to secure his Revolution.

It was also how we were going to take him down. At this point, killing Amon without exposing him as the falsehood he was wouldn't do much in terms of slowing down the Revolution. It was already going at full steam, and his death would just make him a martyr to rally behind. However, if spared, the damage he alone could do was almost irreparable. Sure the Revolution would continue without him, but it would be severally weakened.

And that was how I found myself wearing an Equalist uniform, marching on patrol in the Pro Bending Arena overlooking a crowd that had gathered to watch Amon give his victory speech. I'd tracked Takeko here, which meant she was providing some kind of security to the Equalist Leader. Walking around like I was a foot soldier on patrol was actually a good way of scouting the place out. If you looked like you were busy, no one bothered you.

I eventually found Takeko. She was wearing her uniform again, complete with the face mask and everything. But she was observant, studying each foot soldier she past with a deep gaze, as if she could see their souls. Eventually I was able to work out a sort of path she was following. Although she changed her route, she passed through three separate rooms regularly; the main arena, a hastily constructed prison area below the stage, and the gym which had been converted into a storage room.

I chose the gym as my place to strike. Unlike the other two, it was quiet and almost always deserted. I would take her down here quickly, without any interruptions or distractions. Hiding beneath a table, I awaited for her arrival. It seemed like hours passed, and given the fact that there was a crowd of almost a thousand out in the main arena, I wasn't surprised.

So you can imagine my relief when I finally heard footsteps approaching. Before I moved though, I realized that there was not one, but two other people in the room. And they were coming from opposite ends, which meant they had not entered together.

"Master. Everything is in place," Takeko said. I peaked out of my hiding place to see a rather large pair of leather boots come to a halt in my view.

"Excellent. Everything is proceeding as planned," a deep male voice replied.

"Should I continue to entertain our host?" she asked.

"No. Amon's usefulness has run it's course. I will handle him personally. As for you, I want you to track down this supposed immortal and bring him to me. He may yet prove to be a valuable asset."

"Yes, Master." With that, the man in the leather boots turned and left, leaving Takeko by herself. So that was the mysterious Master she spoke of. Meeting him later was going to be interesting. Right now, I had the Red Archer to deal with.

Drawing my sword hilt, I blinked so that I was now crouched in the middle of the room. Takeko was standing a short distance away, looking over her equipment. Her head snapped up at the sound of my blade extending from the hilt. When she saw me, her eyes narrowed and she drew her own swords.

"Whomever you are, I would advise against your current course of action," she said. I stood to my full height, removing the Equalist gas mask in the process. She was visibly stunned at this, but she was still a professional and quickly got over it, hunkering down into a more agile stance.

"Back for a rematch?" she asked. Her victory over me last time had made her cocky. I was going to correct that.

"Trust me, Takeko, it's not going to be much of a match." I blinked so that I was at her side, driving a few quick jabs into her arm before blinking again and repeating the process on the other arm. Both of her swords clattered to the floor as her arms dangled useless at her sides. I blinked for a third time, appearing directly in front of her and pressing the tip of my blade into her throat.

Her eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief, as all of this had happened in the span of about three seconds. She didn't dare move a muscle as she was fearful she would accidentally cut herself on the razor sharp blade.

"What..how?" she asked.

"There's still so much you don't understand," I answered. With that, I applied a few extra jabs, and she collapsed to the floor completely paralyzed. I collapsed my sword and returned it to it's place on my hip before I grabbed a length of rope and gagged her. Dragging her across the room to the corner, I sat her upright and made sure she was looking at me.

"I'm letting you go, Takeko. I'm sparing you because I don't believe you are operating under your own free will. Maybe it's some kind of drug or hypnotism your Master is using, I don't know. Whatever it is, break yourself free from it. Because if we cross blades again, it will be your end," I promised. At that, I delivered a final jab into her neck, knocking her out cold.

Picking up her discarded swords, I hid them within a crate before sliding the gas mask back on and heading out again. Rather then head back into the main arena, I made my way down into the building's underbelly. What was I doing down here? The answer is I was looking for prisoners. A victory rally surely would have some kind of high ranking or well known bender to show off as a prize.

What I found was an utter surprise. There were several cells, hastily constructed, but well built none the less. However they were all empty, save one. She had been beaten into submission, but I could tell just by the way she lay, she was still defiant as ever.

"I don't know what more you think you'll get out of me, but whatever it is, get it over with," she muttered in annoyance.

"Funny. I didn't think a Beifong would take any of this lying down," I replied. Lin sat up and looked at me with a stunned look on her face. I pulled my gas mask off and showed her my grin. To think, a few months ago it was I who was in the cell, and her determining my fate. Now, the roles were reversed.

"Ryou?!"

"Hello Lin. My how the mighty have fallen," I said.

"You're going to rub this in my face, aren't you," she deadpanned.

"Ordinary I would, but given the fact that this cell door is typical steel and it's still on it's hinges, I'd say that Amon got to you as well," I said. She didn't answer, but rather looked at the floor. That told me all I needed to know.

"I thought as much. Right, let's get moving," I said before extending my blade and slicing the lock. The door swung open and she stood.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"Get out of here with our heads still attached to our shoulders," I answered. We made our way as quietly as we could to the back entrance of this place.

"You know, you move pretty quiet for an old man," she said.

"For an experienced Detective, you sure make a lot of noise," I shot back. Just as we opened the door, the sounds of fighting reached us. Blasts of fire and air, as well as their impacts. I froze. The airbenders had escaped. I'd seen it with my own eyes.

"I thought that Tenzin got away," I said, turning to Lin.

"He did, I saw it. That's how I got captured, making sure he got away," she countered. She was just as genuine in her confusion as I was. We'd both seen them get away. Yet the sounds of battle stated otherwise.

"Get out of here, I'll see what's going on," I ordered.

"You're not going without me."

"Lin, you don't have your bending or a disguise, you'd be vulnerable up there and you know it." She looked frustrated, even more so then when I had first come back to this place all those months ago.

"Be safe, grandfather," she said, placing her hand on my shoulder before slipping out the door. I waited for a moment before turning and running toward the sounds of battle, pulling the gas mask down as I went. The Arena itself had cleared out of civilians, all of them running in terror because of the battle unfolding.

I ran past a pile of Equalist bodies on the floor by the stage. That should have been my first clue about what I was talking into. I rounded the corner onto the main stage, only to walk straight into a blast of air which launched me off the stage and into the wall itself. The air was forced from my lungs as I landed in a heap at the base of the wall, gasping and feeling to see if any ribs had been shattered.

Thankfully no bones were broken. But my current state meant that I was in no position to alert my comrades to my presence. They ran past me, thinking I was just another Equalist soldier. My vision pulsed as I struggled to get my breathing back under control. Airbenders may have been pacifists, but people tended to forget that when cornered, they could hold their own alongside or even out do the other bending arts.

Tenzin trying to break my ribs was a testament to this. After several minutes of collecting myself, I managed to get to my feet and stumble after them. Shaking my head in order to clear it, I pushed open the swinging door that led into the hallway I had just come from. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I leaned backwards just in time to avoid another blast of air rushing past.

"I can airbend? I can airbend!" It was Korra, standing proud and tall at one end of the hallway while Amon stood at the other. Mako was laying sprawled out across the hall from me, looking back and forth between the two. I couldn't help but smile. Finally she had beaten that block of hers. Amon noticed me in the doorway.

"Help me defeat the Avatar, soldier," he said. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. Why would I bother to help him? Then I remembered, I was still wearing the gas mask. Reaching up, I pulled it from my head and let it fall to the floor.

"Ryou?" Korra asked, relief in her voice.

"Kick his ass." She didn't need to be told twice as she started sending blasts of air into him. Amon was sent tumbling down the hallway like a rag doll. Finally he landed on his hands and knees just before a window at the end of the hall. He began to push himself to his feet, and I watched as his legs and arms tensed, he was getting ready to bend again.

I blinked and was suddenly behind the masked man, just as he raised his hand and caught Korra in a bloodbending hold. The Avatar, who was in the middle of throwing another air blast, was stopped dead in her tracks. I glanced out the window behind me and saw blue. We were overlooking the walkway that connected the Arena to the mainland.

Throwing my arm around Amon, I yanked his head back and pulled him into a choke hold. He gasped as my forearm crushed his windpipe, preventing him from breathing. His hold on Korra visibly weakened, as she was able to start to break free of it. She tensed up, ready to throw the final blow, but hesitated because I was in the way. Our eyes met, and I found I had only one thing to say to her.

"Do it!" With a yell, she kicked her foot out, sending a blast of air into Amon's chest. We were both launched backwards through the window and into the waiting harbor. Darkness and bubbles surrounded us and all noise was muffled. Amon's mask had been knocked away during the fall, leaving me with the view of a man who had some burn scars on his face. As we sank, I watched as the scars began to vanish, washed away with the water. The sly bastard was wearing makeup.

Suddenly his eyes burst open and he threw his hands around my neck. A struggle erupted between us as he tried to both strangle and drown me at the same time. My hand managed to grasp my sword hilt and extend the blade. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open as the weapon ran him through. I put my boot in the middle of his chest and kicked off, pulling the sword free and separating us.

Instinct took over, and Amon bent the water around him and shot toward the surface. I kicked and followed him. When my head broke the water, I realized that Amon was above me on a pillar of water he was bending around himself, in broad view of several hundred of his followers. The former leader looked about in shock and terror as he clutched his wound, realizing that he had been exposed for the fraud he was.

I blinked so that my free hand was grasping the edge of the dock. Planting my foot against a support beam, I twirled my sword once before throwing it like a harpoon. It sailed true like an arrow and impaled Amon directly in the heart. He looked down at the weapon in shock, one of his hands grasping it like he couldn't believe it existed. Then he looked from it to me, a look of defeat in his eyes. I watched as the pillar of water gave out from beneath him, and the leader of the Equalists fell into the waiting water below. People were left pointing, watching as his body floated face down and the water around it began to turn red.

I breathed a sigh of relief. This insanity with Amon was had finally reached it's conclusion. With him exposed like this, his movement and following would fall apart, or at least be reduced as a significant threat. Just hanging there, I could already hear the word spreading amongst the crowd. The Revolution was over.

* * *

Dawn brought the Second Fleet, and with it a reestablished stability as the United Forces cleared out any remaining Equalist holdouts. Despite our victory, Korra was depressed. Amon had gotten to her and severed her connection to the three elements she had mastered. It was by sheer luck that her airbending had become unblocked when it did. Still, bending was something she had been able to do her whole life, and then to have that suddenly gone was jarring to say the least.

I kept silent the majority of the time, cleaning my sword or feeding Ashe. But I made it a point to never be very far from her in case she needed me. Lin was far more sympathetic with her then I would have initially thought. I guess the mutual loss of their bending was something they could connect over. We all stood on the docks of Air Temple Island, watching as the main bulk of the Second Fleet sailed into the bay.

"You saved Republic City," Tenzin said to Korra in an effort to make her feel better.

"But there's still so much to do," she replied. The tasks laid out before her were overwhelming, which wasn't helped at all by the fact that she had only one element now. Tenzin placed his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner, and Korra looked at her boots in a downcast manner.

"Yay, Uncle Bumi's here!" Ikki yelled in excitement. As if to answer the airbending child, a figure standing on the bow of the battleship sailing past let out an excited bellow before slamming his fist into his palm. The airbending master visibly deflated at the sight.

"Great, now I have to entertain my brother," he grumbled. I smiled at the sight. Bumi, the eldest of Aang and Katara's three children, had always been something of a mad genus like his namesake. He always came back with another crazy story to tell. But the thing is, no matter how outlandish or absurd it was, it was always the truth. I'd found that out the hard way some years ago.

Turning away from the family reunion, I went back to my room and began to pack my lone bag. After being a wanderer for so long, I was starting to feel that itch again. The need to get out there and travel the wide world. There was so much to do, and after the insanity of the past few months, frankly a vacation of some kind was needed.

"You're leaving." I looked up to find Korra standing in the doorway. She looked even more depressed now.

"It's a wide world out there, Korra. I've been in one place far too long for my liking," I said.

"I was hoping you would come with us to the South Pole. Katara is going to see if she can restore my bending," she said, looking at her boots.

"Your chakras are blocked. Healing isn't going to work in this case," I said bluntly.

"Gee, thanks for the reassurance," she muttered. I just gave her a look. Her mood was starting to annoy me.

"I would think that a student of mine who has advanced such as yourself would have learned by now to pull herself up by her bootstraps," I said.

"You just said that Healing isn't going to fix my problem. I can't be the Avatar if I can't bend all four elements. What's the point then?" she asked.

"I said that Healing wouldn't work, I didn't say it was your only solution." That got her attention. She perked up a little and narrowed her eyes at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, it's a wide world out there. You can go south, waste your time running back home with your tail between your legs," I said as I finished stuffing some clothing in my pack, "or you can come with me."

"Wait, you mean you want me to go traveling with you?" she asked. Her mood had done a one eighty, and she actually sounded excited now.

"What do you say, Avatar Korra? Just you and me on the road again," I offered. She gave a huge smile before pulling me into a bear hug and a kiss.

"I say I like that idea."

 **And cut. That's the end of Book One. The next few chapters will stray away from established canon, so you all have some original content to look forward to. As always, remember to read, review, or drop a PM and let me know what you guys liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	15. The Crucible

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Well, we're out of Book One and into new waters. This chapter is a little shorter then usual, but hopefully you guys will like it all the same. Now, on with the chapter:**

 _ **Fengbao Dao, Southern Isles. One Month Later.**_

"'Sure, Ryou, I'll follow you anywhere'. Me and my big mouth," Korra muttered to herself. Whether or not she thought I could hear her didn't matter anymore. She was cold, tired, hungry, and could probably not care less what I thought at that moment. The Avatar was picking her way through a wooded underbrush in the middle of a downpour, involved in the most extreme game of hide and seek she had ever played in her life. She had no idea that I was crouched on a branch about twenty feet above her, watching her every move.

Let me give you a little context. For the past month or so, Korra and I had been involved in what I called The Crucible. Basicly this was Korra's graduation test, to see what she had learned under my training and how she could use her new skills. Which was why we were on a deserted island in the middle of the Southern Isles, to ensure that we weren't interrupted.

The first few weeks had been a camping trip during which we had reviewed everything she had been taught. Now came her test. Korra's objective was to reach a certain point on the island and either avoid or defeat me in combat. Without her bending, she had only her sword and her wits to rely on. Well, airbending too, but that was strictly forbidden.

The whole point of this was to rewrite the way she thought about and approached life. Korra had been whole heartily convinced that her life as the Avatar was over because of the loss of her bending. While I had been able to cheer her up some, it wasn't enough. She needed to be reminded that she had other skills, and being the Avatar wasn't just about bending.

I jumped from the branch, holding my sword over my head as I intended to bring it into a downward chop. At the last second, Korra drew her own sword, turned, and bashed me aside. I landed in a crouch, holding my blade at the ready.

"Well, there goes that part of the plan," she muttered, bringing her sword up over her shoulder so that the point of the blade was pointed at me. Her non dominant hand was held out, as if telling me to halt. I gave my own sword a single twirl before I leapt forward, eager to see what my student had in store for me.

Korra actually held her own. She parried my attacks before going on the offensive, using her lighter frame and higher energy reserves to her advantage. Our blades moved quickly, only glancing off of each other when they met. Jumping back, she grabbed a tree branch and let it fly at me like a wooden whip. I sliced through it before going after her.

She ran through the underbrush, twisting branches so that they swung back at me like the first one. I either rolled underneath them, jumped over them, or sliced through them depending on their height. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to face me, slicing at my face and chest. I slid on the mud and wet foliage, parrying her blade away from me before I landed on my back.

She brought her sword up over her head and brought it down toward me like she was chopping wood. I battered her blade to the side with mine before I kicked my feet out, launching myself into the air and landing back on my feet. I lunched forward and locked our blades together. Both swords trembled as we pushed against each other.

"This isn't what I had in mind for a trip," she grunted. Her face was covered with mud, and water from the rain poured down it. Her hair was pulled out of its usual pony tail and was a mess, her clothes were ragged, but there was a fire in her eyes. I simply gave her a grin, intending to get under her skin. It worked, because she drove her foot into my knee.

Pain shot up my leg, knocking me off balance. She shoved her weight into me, breaking our lock and knocking me onto my back. Taking her chance, she took off at a sprint into the woods. I couldn't help but smirk as I watched her go. She'd taken a play out of my book, and I was proud of her for that. Jumping back to my feet, I took off after her.

It wasn't hard to track her through the underbrush. At the pace she was moving, she was like a sabertooth moose lion with the trail she was leaving behind. Eventually I arrived at a large pool of water with a waterfall feeding into it off a cliff. It would have been a beautiful sight, if not for the rain and the fact that I was keeping my guard up.

I looked around and realized to my frustration that Korra had given me the slip. However I quickly reversed this feeling as I realized that this was the location that she was suppose to be making her way toward. All I had to do now was stand guard and wait.

Easier said then done, considering I was in the middle of a downpour. Rain limited both sight and hearing, both of which were critical when it came to either hunting or guarding. The sound of a branch snapping off to my right caught my attention, and I was just barely able to duck as Korra exploded out of the growth, swinging her sword at my head.

I somersaulted before coming up, parrying her blade with mine. We traded blows back and forth, probing but never managing to find a way through each others defenses. I swung my sword wide, intending to strike at her side. But Korra leapt over the blade, twisting her body through the air so the toe of her boot came down on my hand, knocking my sword from my grasp. The weapon landed in the mud, and Korra pounced upon me with a yell, forcing me to the ground yet again.

Now she was sitting on my mid section, her sword held up with the tip pointing right at my face. Her chest heaved as she sucked air in, the adrenaline rushing through her. I brought my hand up, my palm slapping the blade away from my face before I surged upward and grabbed Korra by the wrists. Her sword fell from her grasp as we rolled through the mud, battling for dominance. She kneed me in the stomach, and I countered with a punch to her kidneys.

We came up out of the roll with both of us in a crouch, watching the other intently to see what they would do. At the same time we glanced off to our side. There was Korra's sword, a short distance away sticking straight up and down out of the mud. She snarled, and we both lunged for the weapon. As we neared it, Korra jumped and kicked me. I lost my footing in the mud and fell, allowing her to reach it first.

Before I could get back to my feet again, Korra was upon me. She planted her foot into my chest, forcing me onto my back. This time when she pinned me down, she used her legs to keep my arms from moving. She then pressed the blade against my throat and held it there waiting to slash.

"Dead," she growled, determined to end this once and for all. I lay there panting as the rain pelted my face, unable to move.

"You've done well, my student," I said, conceding defeat. She slowly got off of me and helped me to my feet. I recovered my sword from the mud, collapsing it and returning it to my belt.

"So what happens now?" she asked as she sheathed her own blade.

"Now you follow me," I answered as I started toward the waterfall. I passed through the torrent of water, into the cave entrance that was hidden behind it. The cave was illuminated by the luminescent crystals that were popular in the Earth Kingdom, casting a green glow on the tunnel. Korra followed me into the cave, sticking as close as she could. Water glistened on her skin in the light, but I was focused on the task at hand.

"Wow," she breathed.

"You haven't seen anything yet," I said over my shoulder before leading the way deeper into the cave. The tunnel had a downward slope as it led deeper into the mountain side. It was such that water from the waterfall ran like a stream down the cave floor, but not steep enough to where we would be sent sliding to our deaths if we lost our footing.

For several minutes we walked, following the cave deeper and deeper into the earth. I could tell Korra was bursting with questions, but she had refrained from asking them. Finally, the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. The room was round, with four spiraling pillars of stone rising up from the center. We were on a ledge the circled around the room at a slope to create a ramp, about halfway between the floor and the roof. Crystals illuminated all parts of the cavern, but the main focus of it all was the pool of water located at the center of the four pillars, which was elevated from the cavern floor by four sets of stairs.

A ring of water surrounded the raised pool. Four waterfalls from cave entrances like ours like the four points on a compass. Water also flowed from the pool itself, falling into the ring in four waterfalls that were on the opposite sides of the ring from the outside water. Unlike the cool conditions of the surface, the cave was actually a comfortable temperature.

"What is this place?" she asked in awe as we started down the ramp toward the cavern floor.

"A temple, of sorts. Although I believe Oasis would be a far more accurate term," I answered. We reached the bottom of the ramp and stood before a small stone bridge which connected to the stairs that led up to the pool.

"Wait, Oasis? You mean like the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe?" she asked as we walked up the steps to the pool. The water had a pristine, mineral rich glow to it. It churned slightly as a current came up to the surface from somewhere below.

"Exactly. This is one of four such places, located in the far corners of the world. The Oasis in the North is another," I said. Korra looked up at the pillars around us. The familiar swirl symbol of the Air Nomads was carved into the stone on each one, facing the pool.

"So why are we here?" she asked. I removed my sword hilt and sat it on the stone floor beside the pool.

"Your chakras have been blocked, preventing you from being able to bend. And since you're too fidgety to stay in one place long enough to meditate, we're going to try bathing you in the Spirit Oasis in order to unblock them," I said as I began to undo my boot laces.

"And this will help unblock my bending?" she asked, sounding skeptical.

"Each of the Oasis is a place where the bounds between the Spirit and Human realms are non existent. With any luck, we'll unblock your bending and make contact with your past lives," I replied as I pealed my shirt off. Her cheeks instantly gained a shade of crimson, and she suddenly found one of the pillars rather interesting.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"The pool needs as little contamination as possible for the best results. And frankly we're both covered with mud and who knows what else from rolling around outside," I answered frankly as I undid my belt.

"So your solution for me to get my bending back is for me to skinny dip in some spirit water?!" she asked. She did not sound happy to say the least.

"Not fully naked. Your wrappings would be fine," I said.

"You're out of your mind," she huffed as she folded her arms. I rolled my eyes before shrugging off my trousers, leaving me standing only in my briefs.

"You want your bending back, this is how you get it back," I said. For the longest time she just stood there, her cheeks red as she half pouted, half tried sneaking glances at me. I'm not overly toned, but I'm solid enough from my lifestyle, workout, and diet. The thing is that I've been around long enough that nudity, or near nudity in this case, doesn't bother me. I've seen cultures and customs all over the world, and they all handle the human body in different ways. Some were more traditional then others, the Water Tribes being among them.

"Fine. Just turn around," she finally said.

"As you wish," I said before turning and folding my arms as I waited. I heard her gasp in surprise, and suddenly I wasn't so confident in my body anymore. Sure I could probably walk across Kyoshi Bridge in the buff and not bat an eye, but there was something on my back that I was a little self conscience of.

"What...happened to you?" she asked. I felt her fingertips brush the raised flesh, and I flinched away from her touch out of instinct. Burn scars, the vast majority of my back is covered in crisscrossed burned scars. A painful memory, for a very painful experience.

"Can we focus on why we're here, please?" I asked. I felt her pull her hand way, and then heard the rustling sound of fabric. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of water splashing, and took that as my cue to turn back around. Korra's clothing, boots, and sword were all in a pile next to the pool. The Avatar herself was in the water, submerged up to her neck with her hair covering her face in an unkempt manner, as if that could hide the fact that her face was as red as a tomato.

"Don't you think you're overreacting just a little?" I asked. Her response was to sink further until the water was up to her nose. I couldn't help but roll my eyes again before I stepped into the pool. The depth of the pool only came up to my stomach, so she was sitting on her knees or was crouched.

"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get off this rock and back to civilization," I said. A spray of water came from under her nose as she huffed again, but she reluctantly rose out of the water some.

"So what happens now?"

"Now, we'll do two things. We'll make contact with a past life, while at the same time unblocking a chakra," I answered.

"So, we'll be making contact with Aang?"

"And unblocking the Air Chakra," I finished.

"Then...what do I need to do?" she asked. I held my hand out to her.

"Now, you need to trust me." She looked at the hand and then back at me. There was nervousness and uncertainty in her eyes, but she took the hand all the same. I pulled her close to me, and her cheeks turned pink again. However I had no intention for romance at this moment.

"The Air Chakra deals with love, and is blocked by grief. Focus on letting go of your grief, and concentrating on what you love," I instructed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment she was silent, then she visibly twitched and her face contorted with sadness. However this quickly passed, and her expression melted into a relaxed one.

"Good. Now, I want you to think back to your earliest memory, and then try and think back further. Hurl yourself against that block. Force yourself to go back until the memories aren't yours, but that of another," I intrusted. I took a firmer grip on her as her face turned into a scowl of concentration. This was going to be the part where she would need a little nudge.

"Take a breath," was the only warning she got before I plunged her underwater. She didn't struggle, but her hand's grip on mine tightened into one that could have bent steel. Despite this, I pushed her down until she bumped into the bottom of the pool. For several heartbeats it remained like this, with her pinned to the bottom of the pool and me holding her there.

Then, suddenly, her eyes flew open. They glowed with the brilliant white of the Avatar State as she surged upward toward the surface. As she broke the water, she took in a massive gulp of air. The air currents in the cavern reacted instantly, swirling around us like a mini tornado. After a brief moment, the wind died down, and Korra's eyes returned to normal. I managed to catch her as she threatened to go back under do to a sudden wave of exhaustion.

"What was that?" she asked.

"The bottom of the pool is the closest point to the Spirit World. By striving you toward your past life and then having you make actual contact with the Spirit World, I was hoping to have a break through. Obviously something happened. What did you see?"

"I...I saw Aang. He said that I've finally made a connection with my spiritual self," she said.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah, he said that since I've started opening the elemental chakras, I need to finish what I started if I want to stay in balance," she said.

"Then we'll finish what we started," I said. When Korra had recovered her strength, we both climbed out of the pool. After what she had just gone through, something as trivial as me seeing her in her bindings was long forgotten. Since she had snuck glances at me, it was only fair that I snuck a few at her while I had the chance.

Korra was thin, but not in a starved teenage girl sort of way. She had worked out and trained her whole life and as a result her whole body rippled with muscles. Her breasts were large, yet taunt, her legs were long and coursed with power. Overall, Korra was a near seamless blend of feminine and muscular traits. If she wanted, she could flaunt her body and get what she wanted, and then crush you into a fine powder without a second thought.

She must have liked me looking at her, because despite the pink that had returned to her cheeks, she had a small grin on her face. We both put our clothes back on, although with some reluctance. They were still wet and covered with mud, and we weren't overly thrilled about having to wear them again.

"You know we could just walk back to camp in our underwear," I suggested, making it clear that I was joking by my tone of voice. Korra still punched me in the arm for that. As I returned my hilt to my belt, we started back out of the caves. For a while, we walked in silence. But I could tell that something was bothering Korra.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was just thinking...about your scars..." she answered uncomfortably. I took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth.

"I know you're curious, so ask."

"What happened to you?" she asked. I remained silent for several minutes as we walked.

"I was taken prisoner by the Southern Raiders about fifty or sixty years into the War. The Captain of the frigate I was held on was a...less then kind man. His preferred means of keeping prisoners in line was the fire whip," I finally said.

"Wait, you were a prisoner of war? I don't remember you saying anything about escaping from a prison," she said.

"I didn't. Several of the other prisoners on the ship including myself rose up and took control. After that I became a privateer of sorts, raiding the Fire Nation Navy for about twenty or thirty years."

"So you got captured, escaped, and became a pirate? Just when I thought your life couldn't be any stranger," she said.

"Privateer, not pirate," I corrected.

"Potato, potato." I rolled my eyes at her antics.

* * *

"Did ya find what ya were lookin' for?" the Captain asked as we stepped onto the deck of the _Silverbird_. I'd hired/bartered with the Captain when we'd left Republic City for the trawler to be our main mode of transportation. The promise of cash, and abundant secret fishing grounds was enough for him to grant us passage.

"In a manner of speaking. Did the grounds turn out like I promised?" I asked. The trawler had been fishing while we were on the island. He broke into a wide grin at that.

"Aye, they did. The hold is fit to burst," he said with pride.

"Good."

"And as per our deal, where do ya want to sail next?" he asked. I handed Korra my rucksack to take down to our cabin before following the Captain up to the bridge.

"This island here is where we're going next," I said, pointing to an island in the southern Fire Nation. The Captain looked this over before looking back up at me with a concerned look.

"You know these waters are teaming with pirates and other dangers," he said.

"We'll be fine. I leave the finer details to you," I said before leaving the bridge and making my way down to the cabin I was sharing with Korra. Opening the door, I slipped inside before closing it again. Korra was standing with her back to me with her shirt off. After what had happened on the island, her reservations about hiding her body from me seemed to be vanishing.

"So where are we headed next?" she asked as I sat on the lone bunk in the room and began to strip off my boots.

"North, to the Fire Nation," I answered. Korra stepped into the small bathroom that was just off the cabin and was looking herself over in the mirror. She pulled her hair back with her hand for a moment before letting it fall again.

"I wonder if I should cut my hair," she thought out loud.

"Maybe. The White Lotus might be looking for us, not to mention your face has gotten around a lot thanks to the papers in Republic City," I said.

"So should I keep it or get rid of it?"

"That choice is yours and yours alone," I answered. Korra pulled it back again, judging her appearance between the two lengths of hair. Finally she reached down and pulled her sword from its scabbard. With a quick, single swipe, she cut her hair clean off. What had once gone to the small of her back now stopped at her jawline.

"This is gonna take some getting use to," she said as she sheathed her sword. I stood and came up behind her so we were both looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"I think you look good." She blushed and smiled at the complement. Turning her head, she kissed me and pressed her body back into mine. Now this was something I could get use to. After what felt like hours, she broke the kiss and looked up at me.

"As much as I like where this is going, I'd like to sleep in a proper bed first," she said. I couldn't help but smile at that.

"I can honestly say I can't blame you." It was probably one of the better nights sleep I've had in a long time. Korra slept in her usual undershirt and trousers, and clung to me all throughout the night. I didn't mind, I welcomed the warmth she offered. When the gray light of the dawn finally poured in through the cabin's porthole, I slipped out of Korra's grasp, put on a shirt and some loose fitting pants before making my way up to the deck.

It was a beautiful morning. The sea was calm and the sky was clear. It was the kind of morning that even Korra would have a hard time disagreeing with. I leaned against the railing, staring out at the openness of it all. There is some form of timeless comfort in the open sea. No past, no future, just the here and now.

"Nice mornin' isn't it," the Captain greeted. I nodded in agreement, my eyes not leaving the horizon.

"We're makin' good time. Should see your new island off our bow within a couple days time," he continued.

"Then I imagine you'll be putting into the nearest port," I said.

"Aye. Got this big hall to offload and a crew to pay, after all."

"I appreciate everything you've done for us," I said.

"After this? The least we can do is ferry you and your lady friend around," the Captain replied.

"Captain, ship sighted, starboard side! Steamer, single stack!" came a shout from a crew member above us. The Captain took out a pair of binoculars and looked in the direction the lookout had been pointing. He studied the horizon for several moments, and I stood next to him trying to see what he could see without any aid.

"That's odd. Looks to be a warship, light class, like a destroyer or somethin'," he said. I strained my eyes, trying to make out what he saw. The only thing I could see was a pillar of black smoke coming from the ship's smoke stack.

"Cap', I see her colors. Black raven," the lookout reported. The Captain lowered his binoculars, his face now a sickly pale color.

"The _Yubari_ ," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. I cocked my eyebrow at him.

"I haven't been to sea in a while, care to elaborate?" The Captain looked at me like he was about to tell me my pet fish had fallen overboard and been eaten by a shark or something.

"Pirates, son. It means pirates."

 **And that's a wrap! Now, let's discuss a few things. First off, I wanted to warn you all that I'm pretty much doing away with Book 2 and replacing it with different content. Honestly Spirits was my least favorite out of the series, and I'd really rather not get bogged down rewriting it. Second is the topic of...lemons. I'm seriously considering adding one in to this story. After all, this is in the M rating so it's not out of the question by a long shot. But I know that some people aren't comfortable with that stuff. So, like before, I'll leave the choice up to you: the reader. Drop a review, leave a PM, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	16. Flight of the Silverbird

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We got some action, and some more back story in this chapter. I don't have much else to say so let's get on with it:**

Do you all like stories? I'm guessing you do, considering the fact that you're here. Well I think I can come up with one for you. Should I tell you about the time I first met the Earth Monarch? The time I made Roku sob over a game of Pai Sho? Oh, I know, I'll tell you about the time Korra and I outran a well known and highly feared pirate ship.

"INCOMING!"

Well, outran might be a bit of stretch.

The fireball roared over our heads before splashing down just a little ways off the port side of the bow. A geyser of water erupted into the sky before splashing back down onto the deck. Any crew members standing on the deck ducked out of instinct. I just stood as if nothing had happened, looking back toward the ship that was coming after us.

The Captain of the _Silverbird_ had pointed the bow of the fishing vessel to the northwest and gave her full steam. Problem is, a boat like this only has a top speed of about twelve knots, or fourteen miles per hour for those of you who don't know boats all that well. Our persuier, the _Yubari_ , had a speed of twenty knots. Our boat was meant to fish, the one chasing us was designed to hunt and run down prey. Which was what she was doing right now.

"It's just a warning shot. She means to capture us, not sink us," I told the Captain. The man had a fiery look of defiance in his eyes.

"If it's a chase they want, it's a chase they'll get!" I sighed at his response, but otherwise kept my mouth shut. Did I like pirates? No, of course not. Theft isn't something I usually tolerate. But I'm also not foolish enough to think I could take on something like this and expect a good outcome. I'd heard the stories, and I'd seen the outcomes, none of it was pretty.

Let me give you a bit of a rundown, so you're not completely lost. As I would find out later, the _Yubari_ could have once been classified as a sloop. Three hundred and forty feet long with three separate fire bending powered cannons mounted on turrets. She had originally been designed by the Fire Navy as a possible counter to the big battleships that were being developed. Small, lightly armored, but fast and agile.

At least that had been the plan, until a few years ago when pirates seized control of her and converted her to commerce raiding. It was perfect really. A warship designed to outpace the slow battleships that made up the world's navies these days? Neither the authorities nor the crews of the cargo ships stood a chance.

Which, unfortunately, meant neither did we.

Another shot sprang up from the _Yubari_ , which had drawn much closer now to the point that I could easily see her. As before, the fireball sailed overhead and splashed down just beyond the bow. Water rained down on the deck, but otherwise the boat remained unharmed as it continued on it's course.

"What's going on?" Korra asked as she appeared by my side. She was wearing an olive drab parka, something she must have grabbed on her way up to the deck.

"Look for yourself," I said, motioning back toward the chasing ship. A fire filled Korra's eyes as she regarded the other vessel.

"I'll take care of this," she said, confidence and arrogance in her voice. My hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"How, exactly? Puffing them with wind and hoping they'll go away?" I asked.

"I can use airbending to churn up the sea against them," she replied.

"If you show off your ability to airbend now, everyone will know who you are. And that means when they take this boat they'll take you and hold you for ransom," I said. She gritted her teeth as she looked between myself and the oncoming pirate craft.

"I hate doing nothing," she growled.

"I didn't say do nothing," I said with a smile, "just no airbending." She gave me a look I can't quite describe.

"What are you planning?" she asked. My smile widened into a mischievous grin.

"Something that has long odds and probably a very bad outcome," I answered, "Captain, we need in the hold."

* * *

"Out of all the things I've seen in my life, lad, this is by far the most hair brained," the Captain said. We had taken several fish from the hold, gutted them, attached them to lines, and were now dragging them behind the boat. The entire crew and Korra had given me strange looks, but had followed my instructions none the less. It had taken a lot more convincing on my part to reduce the boat's speed to half.

"Your trust in me has gotten you this far, Captain," I replied. The man gave off a grunt, but otherwise remained silent. What were we doing, exactly? The simple answer is fishing. I had done this once, a long long time ago. If things went now like they did then, it was about to get a whole lot more exciting.

The _Yubari_ had settled into a kind of stalking pace. Close enough to where she could easily sink us, yet far enough away that we really couldn't do anything back to them. The reason for this was twofold. First was to create a sense of dread amongst the crew. The longer this chase went, the more frayed their nerves would be, and the less likely they would be to fight back.

Second was a sense of curiosity. They'd seen us hooking up all the fish, and were curious to see what we were up to. For that, I was secretly grateful. The longer they drew this out, the more likely my plan was to work. It was all a race against time now. Sooner or later, the pirates would get tired of toying with us, and there would be nothing stopping them then.

A low moan came from over the sea, and all of the crew's faces went pale. The Captain himself looked like he had never seen the sun a day in his life. Even Korra had a look of fear on her face.

"Please tell me you didn't..." she started, but was interrupted by another moan. I looked out over the stern, trying to pinpoint the origin of the noise. A massive dark shape passed by under the waves.

"Well, I could. But then I would be lying," I replied. The water exploded, and a massive serpent like head rose from the waves. I watched as the thing rose higher and higher into the air, water cascading down it's form. As I drew my sword hilt, the beast looked down upon the boat and regarded us with eyes as red as the rising sun.

A Leviathan had come.

I wasted no time, extending the blade and slicing through the lines holding the bait. Before the rope had even hit the water, the Captain was already screaming orders at his crew. Fire and smoke belched from the smoke stack, and the _Silverbird_ launched forward as the crew pushed her engines to the extreme in order to outrun the sea monster.

We weren't the only ones to react to the sudden appearance of the creature. The _Yubari_ had been forced to suddenly turn sharply to starboard in order to avoid slamming into the Leviathan. Her gun crews, which had been so eager to take us down, wasted no time in opening fire on the serpent. The Leviathan roared to the sky before whipping around and focusing it's attention on the other ship.

Before the creature could do anything, the ship fired a volley and the forces of the blows was enough to roll the beast back into the sea. It didn't last long as the Leviathan reared up again, now much angrier then it had been before. Another volley of fire belched from the guns, the sound of which were like claps of thunder across the open water.

The roar of the Leviathan was defining as it recovered from being hit again. It lowered it's head and unleashed a wave a fire from its maw. However the flames rolled out across the waves, rather then striking the ship itself. The firebenders on board were protecting her from the fire breath. Both of the forward turrets roared to life again, striking the creature in the side of the head and cutting off it's stream of flames.

Twisting and turning like the serpent that it was, the Leviathan rolled it's body and thrashed about in the water. A part of the creature came up from under the ship, smacking the vessel to the side. It did no serious damage to it, but the _Yubari_ was still thrashed about like a child's toy in a bath tub. The Leviathan saw it's chance and unleashed another torrent of flame from it's jaws.

Fire consumed the pirate ship from bow to stern. Someone on board must have been defiant, and vindictive, because the forward turret fired one last time. Rather then strike the Leviathan like it had all the times before, this shot went wide, missing the beast entirely. However it found it's target, in the form of the _Silverbird_.

The fireball struck the fishing vessel mid ship, causing an explosion and having the whole craft shake rather violently. We were all thrown to the deck from the force of the impact. But in an instant, the Captain was back on his feet, screaming orders at his crew and racing to get the fire contained before it spread out of control.

Behind us, both the Leviathan and the _Yubari_ were shrinking into the distance. After all the hype this ship had gotten, it seemed to be kind of a disappointment that it would be done in by a sea monster. No, there were firebenders on board. They could very easily get those flames under control, and it was clear they had more then enough firepower to either slay or severely wound the creature. We would see the _Yubari_ again, of that I had no doubt.

"Cap, the engines took a bad hit. We can't keep red lining her without running the risk of losing them," a crew member reported to the Captain.

"Put in to the nearest safe harbor for repairs," he ordered. The crew member hurried off to obey the man's orders, leaving him alone with us once more.

"I'm sorry, you two. But it seems we won't be able to deliver you to your destination," he said.

"We'll make due. Keeping your boat afloat is more important at the moment," I answered, waving him off. It's not like it was the first time we'd been forced to jump ship early due to unforeseen complications.

"Nothing is ever simple with you, is it?" Korra asked. I just gave her a smile.

"I would have thought you would have figured that out by now."

* * *

The port we put into was called Iola. It was a smaller one in the extreme south of the Fire Nation, large enough for fishing and repairs and that was about it. There was a small garrison of the Fire Navy here as well, so the port was relatively safe from pirates and other unsavory things.

Korra and I gathered our things, said goodbye to the crew, and set off on our own. We had a lot to do, such as finding passage to our destination. But our first priority was finding a place to stay for the night. It was actually fairly easy to find a tavern or an inn to stay at. Given it's location, Iola was the closest thing to a grimy border town the Fire Nation could get. That being said, the amount of bars and dins of vice that were present was unsurprising.

"You'd think there would be at least one place around here that didn't have puke or blood somewhere on the floor," Korra said in frustration after we turned down the fourth place we had tried. The first two were way too nosiy and filled with drunken sailors. I'd had to drag Korra out of one of them after a guy had patted her butt, and she'd tried to take his hand as compensation. The third place had a rather creepy vibe to it, like a place you'd take a prostitute if you planned on strangling her to death and then stuffing her body in a mattress.

"This one wasn't too bad," I said. Korra glared daggers my way, and I grinned to show that I was joking. It had actually been the best one we'd tried out so far. But we'd quickly found out that there was a prostitute assigned to every room. The realization that this tavern doubled as a brothel had been enough for a red faced Korra to storm out and put the place behind her.

Now me? I've slept in the gutter before, more then once actually. All of these places would have been fine for me to lay my head. It was Korra's preferences I was following on this. Keeping her happy was a small price to pay in order to avoid a cold shoulder and broken bones during our next sparring session.

By now we were on the far side of the town, on a ridge overlooking the port in its entirety. It was here that we found a small wooden hut built along the hillside. Several bottles and other trinkets hung from the ceiling of the lean to roof. The sign nailed to the front door identified the place as 'Madame Wan's'. One of the inn keepers and a few people we'd asked directions from had warned us about this place.

'Madame Wan' was the local fortune teller, although some of the people claimed she was a witch. Apparently she dabbled in herb remedies along with giving out people's fortunes. Was she actually worth someone's time? No one had given an answer to that, honestly. If the fact that most of the people were calling her a witch was anything to go by, she was capable of something, although what I couldn't tell you.

"Are you two gonna stand there all day or are you gonna browse around?" came a voice from around the corner. Rather then some only lady with a cane and a crystal ball, a rather young woman wearing Fire Sage robes emerged from the side of the place. Her long black hair hung down to the small of her back. A large gold medallion with a single red ruby in the center hung around her neck.

"Depends, what have you got for sale?" I asked.

"Mmm, remedies, herbs, potions, fortunes, all for a small price traveler," she answered.

"I wouldn't mind having my fortune told, it'll pass the time," Korra said. I fought to roll my eyes, but tossed the young woman a pair of Yuans in order to pay for the fortune. She took the money with a gleam in her eye.

"Please, follow me," she said before turning and leading the way inside the hut. Like the porch, all manner of trinkets and odd bits of junk hung from the ceiling, were on display on shelves, or were nailed to the walls. In the heart of the room was a stone brazier with embers burning in the center of it. Lit sticks of incense surrounded the embers.

"I am called Madame Wan, young travelers. What may I call you?" she asked when she reached the brazer.

"Korra, and Mr. Doom and Gloom here is Ryou," Korra answered.

"Hm, foreigners. Its not often we recieve people from beyond the Fire Nation here in Iola," Wan said.

"The people in town said you were a witch," I stated rather bluntly. Korra gave me a look, but Wan didn't seem to mind.

"Oh fooy. Those simple minded fools wouldn't know a witch if she came up and gave them all boils. I am many things young man, but witch is not one of them," she said.

"So then what are you, exactly?" Korra asked as she looked around at all the trinkets.

"Alchemist, sage, healer, fortune teller. I am whatever the moment requires me to be," Wan answered, being a little too vague for my liking.

"Right, so how do we do this? You read my palm or a throw a bone into the fire or something?" Korra asked.

"Oh no. That's all old fashioned and outdated, particularly for someone such as myself," the woman answered as she raised her hands with her palms facing the ceiling. Instantly the embers grew into a full on flame. She added a few ingredients from unmarked vials containing different colored powders or liquids to the fire before extending her hand toward Korra.

"Your hand, please," she said. Korra hesitantly extended her hand toward the fortune teller. Before she could react, Wan pricked her with a needle, drawing a single drop of blood. Korra yelped, more so in pain then surprise and quickly withdrew her hand. The firebender paid her no mind as she dropped the needle into the fire and began to manipulate it with her hands. After a moment, she dipped her hands into the flames and withdrew a ball of pure fire suspended between them.

"Hm. Interesting. You will be a great deciding factor of the ages. The fate of nations, no whole worlds will hinge upon the choices you make. So great will your deeds be, that by the time you pass on from this world, your story will have become Legend," Wan said. Korra seemed amazed by this, while I was remaining skeptical.

Korra was the Avatar. It was in her job description to decide the fate of nations, so this fortune wasn't much of a shocker. Then again, neither one of us had actually stated that Korra was the Avatar. Even if Wan had guessed that on her name alone, those were still rather long odds. It's not like Korra was the only one to have the name Korra, after all.

"You got all that from a drop of blood?" Korra asked.

"A true master never reveals her secrets," Wan answered with a smirk. I simply folded my arms. It wasn't hard to figure out that she had used a spiritual form of firebending to tap into the life force she had collected from the sample. How she got visions of the future from that, I couldn't tell you. Now even I can claim to know everything.

"You doubt me?" Wan asked, noting my posture as she let the fireball between her hands go out.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. It's in your body language. Your movements can say more then you ever could with a thousand words," Wan said. I sighed though my nose. The woman was clever, I had to give her that.

"Why don't you let her read your fortune next?" Korra asked. It wasn't that I didn't want my fortune read, it was just that I didn't really care anymore. I'd stumbled almost blindly through life for so long it was all I knew anymore.

"Fine," I said, extending my left hand toward her. Wan reached out with another needle and pricked the tip of my finger. The pain barely even registered as I withdrew my hand to my side. Wan repeated the process, tossing the needle into the fire and then stirring it up with her bending. Before she could withdraw a fireball, however, the flames exploded upward toward the ceiling. Wan fell back in surprise, as did Korra and myself.

As the flames died down to embers, a man was left standing, or rather, floating over them. His arms were folded as he looked down at the fallen form of Wan with a passive look. My eyes almost bugged out of my head in surprise, and I quickly drew my sword. Korra followed my lead, drawing her own weapon in preparation to take on this newcomer.

"You meddle with things you can barely comprehend as usual, Priestess of Laozi," the Observer said. The Spirit was wearing his monk attire again, and other then the fact that he was floating, he didn't really give off the vibe that he was threatening. Powerful, yes, but not threatening. Still, this didn't stop the fortune teller from looking upon him with fear. She had probably never had an actual Spirit appear before her like this.

The Observer turned away from Wan and focused upon Korra and myself. He seemed almost amused as he studied Korra up and down.

"Hello, Raava," he said. Despite her discipline, Korra took a shuttering breath at the name as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on her. Clearly, some part of herself from her past lives knew that name, and knew it well.

"I see you have settled on a form that is more suited to you. Grown tired of being male, have we?" he asked.

"You're confusing her, and wasting time. Why are you here? This is a fortune telling, not a Spirit summoning," I said.

"Oh, but you more then most would know, Wanderer, that I do not answer to the petty calls of man. I go where I choose, and at this moment, I chose to come here," he said.

"Then why are you here?"

"To answer your request for prophecy," he said.

"Laozi is the Spirit of wisdom and prophecy," Wan said as she got back to her feet. She sounded shaken up, but she wasn't about to back down and cower.

"That old fool? He's a washed out philosopher who managed to transcend into the Spirit World. I see things in ways no one else can, and thus my predictions can be far more accurate," he told her before returning his focus to me. His voice grew deeper, and gained an echo as he spoke.

 _"Heed my words well, Wanderer: the gray of imperial steel will cover the land. You shall be called home, your circle now complete. Until the dawn you shall hold on, but only forty will be left at the end. None will be alive, none will survive Shiroyama."_ With that, the Observer vanished into a puff of smoke, and the flames of the fire returned to their normal size. The room remained so silent you could hear a pin drop. Finally both Korra and myself sheathed our blades.

"Well, that was getting our money's worth," Korra said, breaking the silence. I couldn't help but snort at that. Madame Wan, however, was looking at us with wide eyes.

"I don't know who you two are, but I have never had a fortune telling like that before," she said.

"Glad to have livened up your day," I said. She ignored my quip and undid the necklace hanging around her neck and handed it to Korra.

"I don't know where you are going. But I wish you luck in your travels. There are followers of Laozi all over the world. Should you find yourself in need, show them this, and they will aid you in anyway they can," she instructed.

"Oh, um, thanks," Korra said as she took the medallion in her hand.

"No, no thank you. That was truly a different experience," Wan said. We said our farewells and stepped back outside. The sun was starting to set, which meant we had to find a place for the night and soon. As we walked, Korra held up the medallion and looked it over.

"Who's Laozi?" she asked after several minutes of walking.

"A philosopher and monk that supposedly ascended to godhood a few thousand years ago," I answered.

"Oh. And the Spirit that showed up back there? Who was that? It seemed like you two knew each other."

"I've encountered him before. That was the Observer. He's one of the oldest Spirits in existence, overseeing the boundary between the Spirit and Mortal realms," I explained.

"So why is he so interested in you?" she asked.

"He finds me interesting."

"What does that mean?" I simply shrugged.

"Five hundred years, and I still don't understand the workings of Spirits," I said. We continued to walk, and I got the sense that Korra's questions weren't done.

"What about Raava? What did he mean when he called me that?" she asked.

"Now that is a name I have not heard before," I said, "what did you feel when he called you that?"

"I felt...recognition. Like something deep down inside me knew it," she said, "What do you think it means?"

"Honestly I don't know. But we'll find out," I answered.

 **And cut. The vote came back in favor of lemons appearing in this story. Considering how long this has been in the M section that's not much of a surprise. I'll be sure to give a warning at the beginning of the chapter when one gets featured. Now then, as usual, feel free to read, review, let me know what you liked or didn't like, or ask a question or ten, and I'll see you all next time.**


	17. The Village on the River

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We broke 150 all the way across the board, thank you all for your support! I told you I would do this, but there is smut in the chapter. Consider this your warning. Now, on with the show...**

When it comes to traveling, I've developed a list of places that I do and do not like to do it. The place at the tip top of the list I hate to travel is the Fire Nation. Why, you may ask? Simple, you need a boat to go anywhere. Seriously, I do mean anywhere. If you're not traveling between islands, it's usually up rivers to villages or towns who's road system hadn't quite been established yet.

The current Fire Lady, Izumi, had dedicated the majority of her reign trying to complete what her father Zuko had started; fully modernizing the Fire Nation. Granted she'd only been at it for three or four years now, but she was doing a fairly decent job. The areas on the larger islands closer to the heart of the island chain had received this upgrade. It was the outer and smaller islands that were waiting their turn.

Take the village of Jang Hui for example. You may have heard of this place as the fishing village Aang and his friends visited in the final days of the Hundred Year War. Even now, seventy years later, the only way to reach the village is by boat. Granted it hasn't changed much in all that time either. But the reason Korra and I were here wasn't for a trip down memory lane, but rather to visit a more unknown side of the area.

"You're sure what we're looking for is here?" Korra asked. She had switched her attire to a rust colored tunic and gray trousers, and she also supported a rice hat on her head. Personally I thought the hat might have been taking her attempt at blending in a little extreme, but so far it had paid off.

"I would have thought that by now, you would have learned not to take everything at face value," I replied.

"I'm just saying, when it comes to spiritual places, I can think of at least a dozen off the top of my head that are more so then this."

"The shrine we're looking for isn't in the village. It's in a cave on shore," I said. The Avatar stopped and gave me a glare.

"If that's the case, why even bother coming into town in the first place?"

"Cause we need supplies. And frankly I want to take a breather after being on the road for so long," I replied. Korra huffed, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. She was really eager to restore her bending. So much so that she wanted to race from one Oasis directly to the next. I had to remind her every now and then that this wasn't just a trip about restoring her bending, it was about opening up her spiritual side as well. If she raced to do one, she'd bypass the other.

Korra hated waiting, it went against her very nature. But she needed to learn patience in order to be a good Avatar. She was already a long way ahead of where she was when we had first met. She just needed to come a little further. As we walked through the various docks and walkways connecting all the buildings together, my thoughts turned to other things. In particular, they turned to the subject of Korra and myself.

After our time together on Fengbao Dao, she had become far more comfortable in my presence. Being in her bindings with me around no longer fazed her. Full frontal nudity didn't either, but she had enough decently to keep those moments few and far between. Her flirting behavior had also increased. Gone was the inexperienced young woman who would blush at the mere thought of a male in his birthday suit. In her place was someone who could take dick jokes in stride and dish them right back out without bating an eyelash.

Now I wasn't blind. I could see the little hints she had been dropping here and there from time to time. The occasional phrase that would have a double meaning, a little extra sway in her hips when she found herself walking in front of me, or in more rare cases, an 'accidental' wardrobe malfunction she would have after bathing.

So you might be asking, why was I holding off in claiming Korra in that manner? Well, I can't really give a straight answer to that. It wasn't a matter of whether or not I loved her. I hadn't felt like this about someone since Renchin or Kyoshi. You know, the two women I had fathered children with. So to say that my heart wasn't in it would be a plain dumb blasted lie. It wasn't that I didn't find her attractive either. She'd figured out the effect she had on me a long time ago, and took great pride in torturing me with that.

I guess you could say that I wanted our first time together to be something special. Yeah, yeah, I know it's sappy and all that. But what can I say? I'm old fashioned like that. Unfortunately for Korra's hormones, that meant I wasn't going to settle for doing it in a sleeping bag next to a campfire alongside the road.

We arrived at a small tavern located on the edge of the village. Inside, we found the place was mostly deserted, with only a few people sitting at different tables. Candles sat atop the tables, giving the place some light. The woman standing behind the bar wasn't the kind of person who'd turn any heads, but she wasn't bad looking either. She had fair skin and long dark hair, tied off into twin braids which hung down her back.

"Hi! I'm Lily, you travelers looking for a bite to eat or a place to say?" she asked when we approached the bar.

"Both," I said, laying out a few copper and silver coins on the counter between us. Lily scooped up the money before pointing toward a set of stairs on the other side of the room.

"Top of the stairs, first door on the left. Come order what you want after you get settled," she said. Korra led the way up the stairs, following the innkeeper's directions. Pushing open a simple wooden door, we were greeted with a modest room. A single metal frame bed, a nightstand with a small oil lamp on it, an octagon window, a desk and chair, and a washroom.

"There's only one bed," she noted as I closed the door and brushed past her.

"So?" We'd slept in the same bed before, so I didn't see an issue.

"You'd think she would have put us in a room with two beds," she said.

"A man and a woman together with minimal luggage and only staying for a single night. What do you think that means?" I asked. The Avatar couldn't help but shrug at that.

"Talk about modesty," she said as she removed her hat and sat it on the desk before dropping her pack onto the floor. I did the same before crossing and checking the lamp's oil level. Despite all the modern advances in the world, they didn't have electricity yet. They did have running water and plumbing though, so there was that plus.

"Just be glad you don't have to take a dump in the river," I said as I sat the lamp down.

"I'll be glad when we put this little rinky dink town behind us," she said as she folded her arms and leaned against the desk.

"I would have thought you'd enjoy the nostalgia. Getting to see how little this place has changed after all this time," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. After all, Aang and his friends had saved this village from pollutants that were being dumped in the river. Granted, that saving was violently destroying the factory that was doing the dumping the first place, but that's neither here nor there.

"When do we go looking for the cave?" she asked, ignoring my comment, although I did notice a twitch in her eye. She'd get her revenge on me in one form or another.

"After we eat," I replied, deciding it was best for my health to just let it go. After getting our stuff settled in, we went back down to the bar room.

"So what can I get you?" Lily asked.

"Two cups of noodles," I ordered as we sat at small table in the corner. This was a habit I had picked up a long time ago. Always sit in a corner with your back to the wall, preferably facing one or all of the exits. This prevents people from sneaking up on you, and it allows you to get a decent view of the entire room and everyone in it. You can call me paranoid if you want, but I'm still alive after all this time, so I must be doing something right.

Korra had actually picked up on this behavior without actually realizing it. She always sat with her back to the wall, and she'd scan every person she saw when she entered a room. It was little, subtle changes like this that told me how far she had come. The Korra I had first met all that time ago would have walked into a room, completely oblivious of who or what was in it and taken the first seat she found.

"So where are we headed after we get done here?" she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"East," I answered, "back to the mainland."

"Oh, great. That only narrows it down to an entire continent," she said as she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. I gave her a half grin at her sarcasm.

"Well, if you really must know, the first place we're stopping is Republic City," I said. She frowned at that.

"Aren't we trying to lay low on this trip? The second we set foot back in the city Tenzin and the White Lotus will be all over us," she pointed out. I leaned forward on the table and rubbed my face with my hands tiredly.

"Yeah, I'd thought of that. My main hope is that we can play the 'I'm the Avatar' card and slip away again before anyone can do anything about it," I said.

"So why go back in the first place? Don't get me wrong, I wanna see Mako, Bolin, and Asami, but it seems like it would be easier just to avoid the city all together." I sat back in my chair, even tipping it lightly out of boardom.

"In a word? Ashe."

"Oh," she said, suddenly understanding why we were making the detour. When we had first set out, Ashe was still a hatchling. Now, the black dragon was a couple of months old, and would have gained enough size for us to ride her. Having a form of transportation other then walking would be a nice addition. Plus, she would be getting to the size that the sky bison and other creatures on the Island as well as in the city would start to view her as a predator, and rightly so. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few flying lemurs or lizard crows missing at this point.

"Here you go," Lily said as she sat the noodles on the table before us, "can I get you anything else?"

"You know someone we could talk to about getting a ride to shore?" I asked.

"Sure, let me talk to my sister, Ivy. She works on the docks," Lily said before slipping away. I watched as she went, my eyes narrowing a little in suspicion.

"What?" Korra asked as she blew on her noodles, noticing my expression.

"I'm getting a major sense of deja vu from that girl," I noted.

"What? She another immortal you last encountered a few hundred years ago?" she asked. I gave her a look.

"No. She reminds me of someone who lived here a while back. Fella by the name of Dock, or Mushi, or something, I don't know. Point is, the guy was wolf bat shit crazy," I said. Korra looked between me and the spot where Lily had disappeared to before going back to her noodles.

"She seemed alright to me."

"Trust me, something ain't quite right about her," I said.

* * *

I was right. I was so very, very right. And in times like this, I absolutely hate it when I'm right. We were on a small boat with Lily's 'sister' Ivy pushing us along with a cane poll. Ivy swore high and low she was not Lily in the slightest, despite the fact that she had the exact same face and body, and was even wearing the exact same clothing. You know the only difference between the two?

Ivy wore a bamboo hat.

That's it. That's literally the only difference. Lily stuck a hat on her head and POOF, she was Ivy now. I felt like I had been thrown back in time seventy years and was dealing with that Dock guy again. Spirits he was a pain in the ass. Helpful, yes, but a pain in the ass none the less. And Lily was just as bad. In fact, when I questioned her, it turns out that Dock was her great grandfather. I would have found it somewhat hilarious in a cosmic sort of way if I hadn't spent the entire ride to shore beating my head on the side of the boat over and over again.

"Don't wonder off, we'll need a ride back into town before nightfall," I said, pointing at Ivy after we landed.

"I ain't going anywhere, newcomers," she replied as she leaned on her poll. She even talked exactly like Lily. I fought the urge to pick up a stone and knock her into the river with it. Korra and I set off, studying the bluffs above the riverbank, looking for signs of a cave of some other opening. After a while of walking, we past a large rusting metal structure on the opposite bank.

"What is that?" Korra asked.

"It use to be a factory. At the end of the War it supplied a good deal of the Fire Nation's construction materials."

"What happened to it?"

"You did. Well Aang did, anyway. He and Katara destroyed it to save the village from the pollutants it was dumping in the river," I explained. Korra actually came to a full stop.

"Wait, I've heard that story. That's THIS village? Seriously?" she asked. I gave her a look like she had just grown a second head.

"Yeah, it's taken you until now to realize that?"

"I haven't been paying as much attention as I'd like to admit," she confessed. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Obviously. Now, let's focus on why we're here. The cave shouldn't be too far now." It actually wasn't, just a few hundred yards further up the bank. And then up about a hundred feet, at the top of a solid stone wall.

We'd actually almost missed it. I'd kicked a rock as we walked, and it had bounced off the carved stone head of a dragon statue laying half submerged in the water. Looking up, we'd spotted the statue the head had come from as well as it's twin sitting a short distance away. Our next task lay in actually getting up to it.

Luckily for us, part of Korra's earthbending training had including free climbing on rock walls. I had acquired the skill after a few years of raiding old temples located in the mountains of the Northern Earth Kingdom. Once we reached the dragon statues, we found ourselves standing before a solum cave opening. It wasn't a grand temple entrance like you'd expect because of the dragons, but rather just a dark hole in the cliff face, partially covered by vines and other vegetation.

I quickly put together a torch, lit it by sparking a pair of rocks, and we set off into the depths of the earth. It wasn't like the cave on the first island. There were no glowing crystals to light the way, just darkness and a damp draft. The tunnel was much shorter though, as we quickly found ourselves in a large room with the sound of running water echoing out of the darkness.

After locating and lighting a pair of large brass brazens on either side of the door, we were able to see the Oasis it most of it's shadowed glory for the first time. It was a large stream of water coming out of the wall and cascading down over the stones into a large pool. Standing above the water was a statue of a woman wearing a bamboo hat and having markings on her face and arms. I bowed my head out of respect to whom the statue depicted.

"Who's that?" Korra asked.

"The Painted Lady. She's the patron Spirit of the river and by extension the town," I answered.

"So how do we do this?"

"Same as before. Open a chakra while connecting with a past life." We stripped down to our undergarments and stepped into the pool. It wasn't like the first time, where Korra was all shy and awkward. We knew what to expect this time around, so we weren't going to waste any time.

"The Fire Chakra deals with willpower, and is blocked by shame. Focus on what you are ashamed of, and then accept your mistake and let it go," I instructed. Korra closed her eyes and did I said. Like before I took her hand and waited. When her body gave the cue that she had let go of what she was ashamed of, I readied myself for the next part.

"You have already broken through to the memories of Aang. Now hurl yourself back even further. Focus on Roku, the man who came before Aang," I said. Korra's face became one of gritted teeth and concentration as she dug deeper into her past lives. Without warning, I plunged her into the pool and held her at the bottom.

Like before, her eyes snapped open, revealing the white glow of the Avatar State. She burst out of the water and unleashed a breath of fire into the air. Rather then dissipate, the flames swirled around the room, illuminating every dark corner. When the fire finally went out, Korra was left floating in my arms panting.

"I..I saw Roku," she said, "he said I've unlocked the next chakra."

"What about your firebending? Have you gotten that back?" I asked. Korra raised her hand weakly and produced a small flame, earning a smile from both of us. Two down, two to go. After she regained some of her strength, we climbed out of the pool, dried ourselves and then redressed. Again, my attention was drawn to the statue of the Painted Lady.

"Did you know her?" Korra asked.

"She's a local Spirit. I've only been through here once or twice before," I answered, well aware of how vague I was being. Truth was, I did know her. When I had first past through this area some three hundred years ago, there was a woman named Song who lived on the river, a shaman of sorts. So deep was her love for nature and the river itself that she disregarded almost all human contact in favor of taking care of the place.

When she died, she transcended to become a Spirit, watching over the river and the village that was eventually built here for all time. Well, that's the official story anyway. The truth is a lot darker and much sadder. She'd chosen the river over the people from her village because the other children had bullied her. When she had reached her adult years, she'd cut herself off from them entirely.

I met Song after the ferry I was using to cross the river capsized and I had almost drowned. She took me back to her hut and nursed me back to health. During the few days I was with her, we became friends. That is, until the third night I was there. A man, I never bothered to learn his name, came down to Song's home and found me there.

You see, Song's relationship with this man was an unhealthy one, and that's putting it mildly. He had her so turned around that he could do anything he wanted to her and had her convinced that it would be her fault. To this day, I don't know how deep that went, and frankly I'd rather not know. When he had come for his visit that night and discovered me, he accused her of being unfaithful to him.

In his rage, he clubbed me over the head and left me laying there so he could hurt me more later. He then turned his rage on Song, beating her before drowning her in the river. When I came to, I saw red at what he had done. I removed his ugly head from it's perch atop his shoulders and then threw his body to the fish. I gave Song a proper burial and then torched her home so no looters could claim her stuff before setting off, determined to put as much distance between myself and this place as possible.

Later, a short time after the war ended, Katara told me of her encounter with a Spirit known as the Painted Lady while passing through this area. The Spirit she described and the woman I had known all those years earlier were to similar for me to not come back and see for myself. Sure enough, I encountered her.

Song told me that she did not blame me for what had happened. She also thanked me for taking care of her body as well as her belongings, she had no family, so her place would have been ransacked. In a way, she was actually happy with the way things turned out. Now, she could watch over the river and the people on it like she had always done. She then thanked me again before vanishing into the evening mist.

The subject of Song was not one I liked to touch on. She was a friend who had been claimed not by old age or battle, but by a coward with an uncontrolled temper. The fact that I didn't do more when it was clear that I could have haunted me for a very long time. But my last conversation with her after she had become the Painted Lady put that to rest.

As we climbed back down the cliff face to the riverbank, I couldn't help but wonder if she was out there, watching us right now. I had sometimes wondered if I could achieve the ability to transcend into the Spirit World, or at the very least, take Song's example and remain in the Physical World as a Spirit of something. If I did this, I could avoid the Observer's grasp and remain out of the darkness of the Void.

Somehow I doubted this would be a proper solution. A Spirit as old as the Observer no doubt had seen every type of attempt to escape his grasp and would be prepared for this. So me trying to attain something like that would be pointless. Besides, in order to transcend you need to die, and that was something I hadn't be able to do for five hundred years.

"Ryou? You in there?" Korra asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You were staring off into space, and I asked you a question," she said.

"Sorry. What did you ask?"

"I asked how we were getting back to Republic City," she said.

"There's a ferry that will take us down river to the port located at the sea. From there it's just a short, simple boat ride," I explained.

"And how are we gonna pay for all this? More trade?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Well, I suppose you could work out a trade with some of the crews..." I said before trailing off. Korra turned on me with a glare, and I held up my hands to show I was only joking. With a huff, she turned and began to stomp away, but not before bending a sharp blast of air into the spot where the water met land. As a result, I was covered head to toe with river slime and mud.

"Okay, that was a little too far."

* * *

"Maybe I should throw her into the river mud, see how she likes it," I muttered to myself as I scrubbed hard on an arm in the shower. It wasn't so much the mud or other stuff that was a pain to get rid of, it was the smell. This ever present sickly smell of dead fish and mud. Thanks to Korra's little stunt, I now smelled like the river.

Granted, I probably deserved it with the joke, but I don't think it was to the point that I should have been caked in the stuff. Now here I was, trying to get the smell off of me. Of course, the entire village smelled like that, so I was probably both projecting and wasting my time, but at the moment I didn't really care.

Plus, I needed to think out the next part of our journey. Part of me wanted to sneak in, get Ashe, and slip out unnoticed before anyone realized we were there. The other part of me wanted to say 'fuck it all', walk right in and then walk right back out without a care in the world. As I thought about it more, the more it seemed that we would be going with the second option. Korra wanted to see her friends, and it would be good for everyone to know she was alright after having been on the down low for a couple of months.

 _ **Smut Warning.**_

The sound of the shower curtain being drawn back brought me out of my thoughts. Before I fully realized what was happening, there was another presence in the shower with me. It was Korra, and she was as naked as the day she was born. I blinked in surprise, but was able to keep my cool.

"Um, shower's in use," I said. She gave me a coy smile.

"I know. From the looks of this place the hot water won't last, so I figured we could get two done for the price of one," she said. I cocked my eyebrow at her.

"Is that what you thought?" I asked with skepticism.

"Yeah. Besides, this way we can help each other reach places that would otherwise be hard to reach," she said as she reached out and began to rub her hands along my soap covered body.

"What you're suggesting is rather dirty, Korra," I said. Sure enough, my member began to awaken between my legs. She noticed this with a smile and collected some of the soap off my body and began to stroke it, which only served for it to get harder faster.

"If I'm a dirty girl, Ryou, maybe you should help me get clean," she whispered huskily. That was it, I was gone. I don't care if I had centuries of experience, I don't care how easily I should have been able to push her away, you put a girl who looks like Korra in the same shower with me, talking like this and doing what she was doing with her hand, there's no defense against that.

Taking the soap in my hand, I lathered up pretty decently before I reached out and began to cover Korra's body. I took my time, massaging my way from her neck down to her upper chest. When I reached her breasts, I covered them with soap as well before pinching her nipples. She closed her eyes and bit her lip in pleasure. Happy with this response, I did it again and she let out a small moan. Her response was to increase the speed of her stroking.

My breath hitched in my throat as I felt the reaction my body was having. I responded by getting some more soap and lathering up her crotch. As I rubbed against her folds, Korra let out a gasp and fell against me. She clearly enjoyed what was going on as I returned the favor. Finally she looked up at me with a new fire in her eyes before pushing me back into the stream of water from the shower head. We locked lips and our tongues wrestled for dominance while our hands roamed over each others bodies.

This seemed to go on forever. Not that I cared. I was enjoying myself, and she was to. Then, she broke the kiss and looked up at me again with that look in her eye as water cascaded down over her form.

"Not here," she said. I reached behind me and fumbled to turn the water off. Korra turned and threw the shower curtain open before stepping out and walking out of the bathroom entirely. She didn't care if she was still soaking wet, and at this point neither did I as I followed her like a lost puppy.

When I got out into the main room, she grabbed me and shoved me onto the bed. Before I could react, she was on top of me, straddling me, her lips on mine again. Our bodies rubbed against each other, and I struggled to form a cognitive thought. She abruptly broke our kissing and sat up straight. The sight of her on top of me was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The reality of what we were about to do crashed down on me like an anvil.

"Korra, are you sure about this?" I asked. Her response was to reach down between us, grasp my hard member, and hold it straight up and down.

"I'm tired of waiting. I want you so bad," she replied before plunging herself down on top of me in one go. Her eyes bugged out of her head, and so did mine. She arched her back, her mouth open with either a silent scream or moan, I couldn't be sure of which. For me, I was suddenly engulfed in a warm velvet heaven, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to give in to primal instinct.

"I'm here, I got you," I said sitting up and taking her in my arms. She let out a shutter as her eyes slid closed and she wrapped her arms around my neck. Slowly, she began to rock against me. Slow at first, and then faster and faster. Her breath became more rushed and labored before elevating into vocal moans. Knowing that she was starting to enjoy herself, I began to buck my hips back into her, meeting her thrusts with my own. Our lips locked again, and her grip on me tightened.

Suddenly, I tightened my grip on her and flipped us over, causing her to yelp in surprise. Now I was on top of her. I could see it in her eyes. As much as Korra liked to be in charge, she loved being taken charge of. I sat up and gripped her thighs, spreading them wide before I thrust back into her. She loved every second of it, her head falling back, her eyes closing, her moans increasing in volume.

"Oh, oh, uh, uuh, YES!" she cried out as every part of her body tensed up from her orgasm. She threw her arms around my neck again and pulled me down into a kiss. With her clamping down on me the way she was, I couldn't last much longer, and I knew it.

"Korra, I'm close," I warned, feeling my loins begin to boil. Her response was to wrap her legs around my waist and pull me in deeper. I fought off the inevitable as long as I could, but finally I gave out and came deep inside her. Both of our bodies shuttered as we locked lips again, this time more sensually rather then out of desperateness.

 _ **Smut End.**_

We collapsed onto the bed side by side, both of us trying to get our breath back. For a moment we just lay there, bathing in the after glow of what we had just done. Finally, Korra rolled over and pressed her body into mine before kissing me.

"We're gonna need another shower," she said. I couldn't help but smile at that. I also couldn't help but feel that I had just awoken some kind of slumbering dragon, and I wouldn't be able to put it back to sleep. Not that I wanted to. I'd seen this side of Korra, and I liked what I saw, a lot.

"Something tells me we're not going to get a regular bath in for a long time," I said. She smirked and kissed me again before laying her head on my chest.

"Play your cards right, big boy, and you'll see."

* * *

Putting Jang Hui in our rear view was something of a bittersweet thing. Both of us were eager to get on the road again. The town didn't have much to offer other then a one or two headed variant of fish. But at the same time, it was the place where Korra lost her virginity. Like I said, a bittersweet thing. It was early morning when we set out. A heavy fog had settled over the valley, making it difficult to see something more then twenty feet away. We were on a small steam powered riverboat, heading down stream to the port at the mouth of the river. The person in charge of the boat was Iris, Lily and Ivy's 'sister'. How was she different then the other two? Her hat was a captain's hat. It was highly infuriating since she changed hats right in front of us and declared herself a new person. Not only that, 'Iris' turned right around and declared that her 'sisters' Ivy and Lily were insane. I'm not one to look a gift ostrich horse in the mouth, but it took every once of my willpower not to throw her overboard.

I was leaning against the railing at the back of the boat by myself, watching as the outlines of the village buildings faded into the fog. My thoughts were all over the place. Where we were going, what had happened, what was going to happen next. I started thinking more and more about what I wanted out of my relationship with Korra.

Korra wasn't really the settle down and have kids type, and truth be told I really didn't want her to be. I'd gone down that road before, and it always ended the same: heartache, and the curse of going on alone. Friends, family, loved ones, sooner or later they all get taken away from me in one way or another.

Now there was the possibility that I could make Korra like me, all I had to do was either take her to the spring in the mountains. But I had already decided against that. My condition, my curse, it's not something I would wish upon my worst enemy. There's no way I would ask something like that of Korra, to choose between all of her friends and family and me.

Besides, in order to do that, I would trapping the Avatar Spirit in one body. That was a move that was way too selfish. She didn't deserve that. And yes, the Avatar Spirit is a she. Don't ask me how I know that, after several hundred years of contact, I just know.

From out of the fog, there came the form of a woman floating above the water. She was transparent, and almost looked like she was apart of the mists that surrounded her. I perked up when I noticed her, blinking in surprise. Those markings, that hat, I know them anywhere. I raised my hand, partially as a wave, and partially offering it out to her. She smiled and returned the gesture before fading away into the mists again.

 _"It is good to see you again, old friend. I wish you well on your travels,"_ came the whisper of her voice, and with that, the Panted Lady was gone. I gave a tired, sad smile to the mists around me. Perhaps facing the music in Republic City wouldn't be that bad after all. There were worse fates out there then getting yelled at by a bunch of kids, er I mean, elders and masters.

 **And cut. So there you have it. Korra has her firebending back, we got a little more backstory, and they...um...did the deed. Now for those of you wondering, this isn't going to become a regular feature. I'm telling an adventure story, not writing a porno script or a romance novel. Like this chapter I will include a warning at the beginning of the chapter when it contains one. That being said, I want to hear from you guys. Drop a review, leave a PM, ask a question or ten. Let me know what you liked or didn't like about this chapter, and I'll see you all next time.**


	18. New Companions

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Wow, as of the posting of this, it's been one year since Ageless was released. This chapter is kinda short cause it's kind of a filler. But hey, something is better then nothing right? Onward!**

The sight of the Republic City skyline is something I never think I'll miss every time I leave the city, yet every time I come back it's always a sight to behold. That being said, I don't like seeing the buildings up close, and by that, I mean being slammed into them repeatedly by a bucking dragon.

"Ow, ow, ow, Fucking OW, quit that!" I yelled as I clung to Ashe's neck as she repeatedly slammed me into a window of a skyscraper. The black dragon let out a bellow before diving toward the street below. Despite my back screaming in protest, I refused to let go, mainly because of if I did I would fall several stories to my death.

Now I'm sure you might be wondering, how is it that I found myself in this position? Well to tell you that, I suppose I better back up a bit.

 _ **One Hour Earlier...**_

Our welcome back into the city went about as well as you could expect.

"Where. Have. You. Two. Been?!" Tenzin roared, his face beat red with more then a few veins bulging outward. It wasn't just the airbending master who greeted us. Korra's father, Tonraq was there as well. Now before you go making assumptions, I did actually have Korra send updates to her parents, usually in the form of a telegraph just as we were leaving a town, if anything to keep a slight edge on those who might have been trying to track us down.

To be clear, I didn't have to do that and neither did she. Water Tribe custom dictated that a child came of age at sixteen. Even the marriage laws reflected that. Korra was a legal adult and had been for some time. By that notion she could go where she wanted, when she wanted. The main reason I had her do it was because I knew she was an only child, and I knew the worry that came from not knowing what your child was up to.

Still, walking up to Air Temple Island like we owned the place after being gone for so long probably wasn't the best idea. When they saw us, Tonraq made a bee line for Korra. The man was big and broad, so he easily swept her up in a spine crushing hug. I didn't doubt for a second that he was a warrior of some kind either in the past or present.

"Your mother and I were so worried about you," he said when he finally sat her back down.

"I'm alright, dad," she reassured. Satisfied that his daughter was safe, Tonraq turned his gaze to me. His look said it all. I was a dead man, and that's all there is to it.

"You tried to kidnap my daughter," he said, starting toward me. I took a half step back, assuming a fighting stance and resting my hand on my hilt. An accusation like that was a very serious one, and it told me just how far he was willing to go when it came to pummeling me. But Korra placed her hand in the middle of her father's chest, holding him back.

"Dad, stop. I went with him, willingly."

"Korra, you've been gone for months..."

"And we've gotten results!" she interrupted, igniting a flame in the palm of her hand to prove a point. Tonraq visibly softened at that. I'm not sure what exactly was going through his mind earlier, but it was clear to him now that I wasn't traveling with Korra for my own selfish reasons, but rather to help her. He eased out of his aggressive stance, and I slowly followed suit. There was still the chance that he might attack me.

"I don't really approve of it, but it is getting results," Tenzin reluctantly admitted. Bald hypocrite. With four kids running around underfoot, he was the last person to give a lecture about spending too much time alone with someone of the opposite sex.

The sound of trees falling and wood cracking came from a tree line off to our right. Several different kinds of birds and flying lemurs took to the sky. Bumi, Tenzin's older brother, emerged from the trees. Although he was wearing a United Forces uniform, it was clear that retirement had fully settled in. The jacket was undone, and a bit of a belly was forming around his mid section.

Still, this didn't hinder him as he ran toward us at full tilt. He was screaming in terror with his hands held in the air. From the trees behind him came a large, black serpentine form. The dragon uncoiled from the trees and rose up high into the air as it regarded us with it's golden eyes.

"Hi, Uncle Ryou, so glad you could stop by, gotta go, bye!" Bumi babbled as he ran past us without even the slightest hint at slowing down. None of us dared to take our eyes off of the dragon as he went. We did take a few steps backwards as Ashe unfolded her wings and roared down at us. I was impressed by how large she had gotten. She would be able to carry Korra and I without a single problem.

"This thing has been scaring the sky bison for a solid month," Tenzin complained.

"Because she's at the awkward age for dragons," I replied as I stepped toward the dragon, "it's like puberty, only with fire, fangs, and claws," I said.

"Then how do you stop her?" Korra asked. I flashed a grin back at her.

"The best way is to do that is to tame her. And the quickest way to do that is to ride her," I answered.

"You're going to ride that thing?" Korra asked in disbelief. Even Ashe let out a snort as I took a few steps toward her.

"Are you seriously asking?" I replied. Korra face palmed.

"He's dead. That's just great. Now how am I gonna get my bending back?" I ignored her as I looked the dragon square in the eye. She must have seen something threatening in me, because she lowered her neck and bared her fangs. Smoke trailed upward from her nostrils, and a deep rumble came from her throat as a warning.

In a flash, I jumped into the air, flipping my form so that I landed squarely on her neck. Ashe reared up and let out a bellow. She thrashed about, trying to dislodge me and uprooting a bamboo tree in the process. I tightened my legs around her neck and gripped her horns with my hands, refusing to be knocked loose.

Realizing that I wasn't letting go, Ashe unfurled her wings and took to the sky with a powerful downward thrust. My stomach summer salted as she changed directions on a dime, first going skyward, and then diving toward the bay. I clung to her for dear life, lowering my frame so both my arms and legs were wrapped firmly around her neck. Realizing that this initial burst had failed as well, Ashe changed directions again, this time headed straight for the skyscrapers that dominated the downtown district.

Which brings us back to our current situation.

"This is not how I saw this day panning out!" I yelled over the wind as Ashe dove toward the street. At the last second she pulled up, flying just high enough that she cleared the rooftops of the cars passing by. It must have been quite the sight, because several drivers were slamming on the breaks as we went past.

Suddenly, the dragon put an extra beat into her wings and raced skyward again. We zipped past a police airship, close enough that I could see the jaws of the crew members on board practically fall off. Once we had cleared a certain altitude, Ashe rolled over onto her back, doing a couple of mid air flips. My grip was like iron, although both my head and stomach spun from getting dizzy.

"Just give it up! I've got you, it's over!" I yelled. Ashe's response was to dive toward the airship again. This time she latched onto the hull and peered into the craft like a curious cat. Considering she was about as big as the airship was, I wasn't surprised when it started to list under her weight. Or when the metalbenders on board screamed in terror and jumped for their lives.

Not everyone left though, as Ashe bared her fangs and growled at the helmsman, who was shaking like he was having a seizure and standing in his own puddle of piss. Despite the awkward angle of clinging to her neck while technically laying on my side, I managed to reach up and slap the side of the dragon's face a few times.

"Hey, hey! No! Bad! No making the cops piss themselves!" I yelled. Ashe responded by snapping her jaws at my hand, which I just barely managed to avoid. I slapped her again.

"No biting! Bad Ashe!" The dragon let out another below before it dislodged from the airship and began to glide back out over the harbor. We buzzed Aang's statue, the tip of her wing just barely grazing his ear as we went past. I dug my heels into her side and leaned, using my body to steer her back toward Air Temple Island.

We crash landed on the Yin and Yang symbol, or rather Ashe touched down harshly, which forced me to lose my grip and sent my flying over her head and landing in a heap. With a groan, I pushed myself back to my feet and faced her down head on. For a moment, Ashe bared her fangs and stared me down with steam billowing upwards. She looked like she was about to roast me alive with her fire breath, and I was prepared to react as quickly as I could.

Rather than incinerate me on the spot, Ashe lowered her head in a bow. She was admitting defeat. I almost collapsed on the spot from relief. Partly because I was bruised, battered, and probably had a broken bone or two, but mostly relief. Thank the Spirits that was over. Korra and the others came running over.

"Did it work?" she asked.

"That was a lot harder then I remember," I panted in reply. Upon hearing Korra's voice, Ashe perked up. At first, she was slipping back into defensive mode. But when she actually saw who was talking, the dragon bounded forward, causing Korra to stumble backwards and fall from surprise. Ashe stood over her, licking her face like an excited dog seeing their master again.

"Ow, Ah! What's she doing?!"

"She recognizes you," I answered. As if to prove my point, the black dragon rubbed her head against Korra affectionately.

"But I only saw her for a few weeks. And besides she was willing to attack you."

"You were the first human she saw, and a female to boot. She probably thinks of you as an adopted mother or something," I explained. Korra looked back down at Ashe and hesitantly patted the top of her head. A pleasant ruble came from the dragon's throat in response.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

"Now we do what you want to do," I said. Korra looked between me and Ashe, and a smirk formed on her face.

"I know just the thing."

* * *

The Sato Estate may be something to behold from the ground, but that view doesn't hold a candle compared to what it looks like from the air. We rode Ashe there from Air Temple Island and circled the place once in order to try and figure out where everyone was. Korra rode directly behind me, her arms wrapped around my midsection while she rested her head on my back.

Riding a dragon is like...well it's not really fair for me to compare it to riding a bike, but that's the closest I can come to. Point is, once you figure it out you never really forget. Even after hundreds of years, I still had the skill to ride. Ashe didn't seem to mind the two of us riding her. If anything, she seemed to relish in the fact that she could spread her wings, literally.

We touched down in the middle of the race track, where a pair of satomobiles were being tested. Both of the cars came to a screeching halt, and Ashe reared up her head and roared. Immediately the passenger door flew open, and a single person came tumbling out and running in the opposite direction.

"DRAGON!" It was Bolin. Of course it was Bolin. Why should I have expected anything else? The driver side doors on both cars opened, and out stepped Mako and Asami respectively. Unlike Bolin, these two looked up at us with a sense of hesitent wonder.

"Korra, Ryou?" Asami asked, placing her hand against her forehead to block the sun from her eyes.

"Hey, guys," Korra greeted with a half wave.

"Where have you been? It's been months!" Mako said as Korra swung her leg over Ashe's side and slid down her flank.

"We've been getting my bending back, we just got back into the city," Korra explained as she gave her two friends quick hugs. Realizing that these two weren't a threat, Ashe relaxed beneath me. I patted her side in a reassuring manner, which caused her to relax more. While Korra talked excitedly amongst her friends, I sat and waited, turning my thoughts elsewhere.

Tenzin, after finally calming down to the point where his blood pressure was no longer a major health concern, had relayed to me what had been happening in the city over the past few months. Tensions in the city were still high between benders and non benders, although they had come down some as time past. It use to be there was violence in the streets and martial law had been temporarily declared. Now it was just protests and mean words thrown at each other.

The Council, which had been the main governing body, had been dissolved. In it's place, a presidency was being set up. However, elections had yet to take place, so the Republic was effectively leaderless for the moment. The current polls showed that some guy named Raiko was set to be the President, although the actual elections were still a month away, so there was no way to know for sure.

I actually liked the direction the Republic was heading. The leader of a nation, elected by the people, nothing had been done like it before in an actual governing body. Sure small tribal bands, rebel factions during the war, and pirate enclaves all were democratic, but the actual recognized nations had monarchies or chieftains. Except the Air Nomads, they didn't really have a government at all.

Once again, the world around me was changing again, and yet I remained and went on. I found myself watching Korra as she talked excitedly, updating Mako and Asami on our adventures. In a way, my relationship with her was a rather strange one. I'd been unofficially married to one of her past lives, and good friends with two others, and now I was involved romantically with her.

Part of me had wondered if it was the Avatar Spirit I shared a bond with, and not the actual Avatar themselves. I dismissed this thought after a good deal of debate. Did I have a bond with the Spirit? Possibly, although I had never actually spoken to it. But Avatars and the Avatar Spirit are two totally different things. Each Avatar is a completely different person compared to the last, and the Spirit has nothing to do with it. I'd made friends with Roku and Aang of my own accord, just like how I had fallen for Kyoshi and Korra.

The hair standing on the back of my neck brought me out of my thoughts. I looked all around us, my sense of danger having been tripped. We were being watched. I drew my sword hilt and continued to scan the area around us. Sinking my top row of teeth into my bottom lip, I blew, resulting in a high pitched whistle.

"What is it?" Korra asked, stopping mid sentence as her hand flew to her sword.

"I don't know," I answered as I continued to look around. A suddenly flurry of movement appeared in the corner of my eye, and I ducked out of instinct. Good thing, too, because an arrow streaked through the space where my head had been sitting a millisecond before. I slid down Ashe's flank, extending my blade as I went and deflecting another arrow when I landed. A third arrow narrowly missed me, flying past my face close enough I could feel the breeze it left behind.

The arrow stuck Ashe in the side, but due to the thickness of her scaly hide it just bounced off. Still, the dragon let out a bellow of discomfort before launching into the sky. From out of the stands she came, wearing her Equalist uniform and having a bow at the ready, Takeko, the Red Archer.

"Down, Kitty!" I yelled. Her face wrap was down, and I got a good look at her face. The redness in her hair had faded some, and some more lines had appeared on her face. Overall, she looked about ten or twenty years older then the last time I saw her.

"You doomed me!" she screeched as she shot another arrow my way. I deflected it away from my heart, and then dogged the next arrow that followed. She closed the distance between us, swinging her bow as a staff and forcing me to back peddle. This didn't last as Korra leapt into the fray, swinging her own sword.

The two women traded blows back and forth on an even foot, with neither managing to get the upper hand. Finally, Korra made a small kick upwards with her foot, blasting Takeko in the face with a gust of wind. She stumbled backwards, surprised and blinded from the strike. Before she could fully recover, Asami appeared behind her and placed an electrified glove on her shoulder. The redhead let out a scream as the electric current passed through her, and she collapsed.

When she came to, Takeko found herself surrounded. Both Korra and I had our blades leveled at her, Mako had one of his fists lit with fire, and Asami had her glove at the ready. I was ready to take her head. I'd warned her the last time we'd met that if we ever crossed blades again, I wouldn't show mercy. Korra and the others had managed to talk me out of it, for the moment. If she made a move, I wouldn't hesitate.

"Mind telling us what that was all about?" Korra asked. Takeko glared up at her.

"My buissness is not with the likes of you," she replied.

"You're right. It's with me, considering I'm the one you tried to make into a pin cushion. So, in light of the fact that I'm really low on patience right now; what the hell?" I asked. The redhead looked up at me with murder in her eyes.

"My Master cast me out because of my failure to deal with you."

"That sounds like a personal problem."

"He banished me from the spring! Now look, look what's happening to me!" she snapped. I didn't have to look, as I'd already guessed what was happening to her.

"What is she talking about?" Mako asked.

"The spring of Spirit Water that gave her longevity. Without refreshing herself in it, all of the years she's lived with begin to catch up with her," I explained.

"And it's all your fault!" she screamed.

"It's yours, actually. You are the one who failed, and now you are the one who must deal with the consequences," I replied in calm level tone. I raised my blade in a salute as I prepared to do what I had promised. Korra, however, moved herself between me and the archer.

"Ryou, wait."

"I warned her what would happen, Korra."

"I know that. But if she's alive, and we help her, she could help us," she argued. I hesitated at that. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. However, that all depended on it we could actually convince her to help us. It didn't seem to matter what I thought, apparently, as Korra had turned her attention to Takeko.

"If we help you, will you help us?" she asked. The redhead's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why would you help me?"

"It's a trade. You want to stay alive, and we want information on the guy that betrayed you. Seems fair if you ask me," Korra said. Takeko let out a short laugh.

"My Master controls the monastery where the spring is located. You'll never be able to get me to those waters."

"The monastery is not the only place with water such as that," Korra replied. Now, Takeko looked confused, and curious.

"What other places are there?"

"A few. We're heading to one after we leave the city. You could come with us," Korra offered. I really didn't like where this was going.

"Just like that?"

"But, you'll have to tell us about your Master," Korra finished. For a while, Takeko remained silent. Finally she stood and slung her bow across her midsection.

"I'll give you the information in partials, that way you'll have to take me all the way," she said.

"Deal," Korra said as she sheathed her sword. I reluctantly allowed my blade to telescope back into the hilt.

"So when do we leave?"

"Not so fast," I said, "first you answer one question."

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Takeko asked, sounding annoyed.

"Your Master, what is his name?" For the longest time, the archer was silent, and I was starting to think that maybe she would forfet her end of the bargen and I wouldn't have to travel with her.

"Yusei. His name is Yusei," she finally answered. Well, shit. There goes that plan.

 **And cut. So Ryou has a not one, but two new traveling companions now. How will this turn out I wonder?**

 **Now for a quick announcement: the prequel to Ageless will be coming out soon. I will announce it's release here in Ageless so that you'll all know when it drops, which will likely be sometime around the first of the coming month. Remember to read, review, ask questions and what not, and I'll see you all next time!**


	19. The Mountain City

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We've broken the two hundred mark in the follows category. Once again, I can't thank you all enough for your support. Anyway, on with the chapter:**

Ah, morning meditation. The warmth of the rising sun bathing my face. A cool, refreshing breeze at my back, coming from the sea. The damp sent of salt on the air, and the distant calming crashing of waves. There really is nothing quite as calming as quiet moments like this.

"TENZIN, HAVE YOU SEEN MY BOOTS? WAIT, NEVER MIND, FOUND THEM!"

I took a shuttering, irritated breath and slowly opened my eyes. Bumi was a character that took a little getting use to. At almost all waking moments of the day he seemed like a kid on a sugar rush with an attention disorder, showing a lot of enthusiasm in whatever happened to be holding his attention during that particular five second span of time.

That being said, he was also one of the most brilliant commanders that had ever graced the ranks of the United Forces, and probably the bravest man I had ever met. Sure he had a tendency to tell outlandish stories, which when coupled with his personality easily held the attention of his nieces and nephews. But the thing is, nine times out of ten what he was telling you was the truth. No matter how rowdy he may have been during his childhood, and even up till now, I had grown to respect my adoptive nephew.

However that didn't mean I wasn't going to shove one of those missing boots so far up his ass he'd taste leather for a solid month if he interrupted my meditation again.

You may be wondering why we were still in Republic City. We had Ashe, we had everything ready to go, we even had Takeko ready to head out. So why were we still here, and not somewhere in the north central Earth Kingdom by now? The answer is quite simple. We were waiting on the arrival of Korra's mother, along with Katara and Kya as well.

Senna had agreed to come up in order to see Korra before we departed on the next leg of our journey, and Katara and Kya had decided to come for a visit. Personally I wasn't overly thrilled about the idea of waiting around. Or seeing Kya. Mainly seeing Kya. Now those of you who have been paying attenion so far may have noticed that I seem to have a problem in my relationship with each of the daughters of my former companions. Well, that's not the case. I never really had a problem with Suyan, Lin's sister, or Izumi for that matter. Just Lin and Kya.

While Lin had hated me for family reasons, Kya's dislike of me came from more of misunderstanding on my part. You see, growing up she was a rambunctious girl, and the spitting image of her mother in both appearance and bending abilities. She also probably had the strongest relationship with 'Uncle Ryou' out of the three siblings. When she was nineteen, she left and traveled the world for a few years on a spiritual trip, expanding on her healing techniques. When she came back a few years later at the age of twenty two, she had beads in her hair and she announced to everyone that she was a lesbian.

Everyone around her was supportive, of course, but she took it hard when I seemed to react with disinterest and uncomfort. Don't get me wrong, I fully supported her coming out just like everyone else. What she failed to realize was that there were two things that dictated my reaction, or seeming lack there of.

The first thing to take into consideration was my age. Now I'm not going to shake my fist and go 'back in my day we didn't have things like that' cause frankly we did. I've maintained pretty much the same stance on the issue my entire life; people can do what they want with whomever they want, so long as it's in private. I don't put my entire sex life out there for all to see, and I expect the same courtesy from others.

The second was the nature of my relationship with her up until that point. Something Kya seemed to have forgotten on her little world tour was the fact that up until she came back, she had been my niece, a little girl with pigtails wanting to have a tea party with me or have me tell her stories of adventure. To have her suddenly bring up her sexuality was...a little jarring.

Still, the damage was done. For several years Kya thought that I had rejected her because of who she chose to love. It was only after a shouting match about ten years ago did I finally find out what had bothered her so badly and we had resolved things. Regardless of that, things were still a little tense and rocky between us, even after all this time.

With a sigh, I got to my feet and drew my sword hilt. I extended the blade before going though the various guards of my chosen form in a sort of dance. Meditating wasn't going to get done, not with Bumi and the airbending kids around anyway. Besides, the dance of the guards helped to past the time. Korra spent most of the morning out with her friends, and Takeko was out doing whatever Takeko did in her downtime. The Red Archer had put forth little more information then what she had provided, holding true to her word to only give more as long as she tagged along. Her master's name, Yusei, was one I had heard before but couldn't quite put my finger on where I had heard it.

"So where are we headed next?" Korra asked. She was alone, surprising considering how much time she had been spending with her friends lately.

"Luo Chui," I answered as I shifted my stance slightly, flowing from one form to the next. A look of puzzlement came over her face.

"I don't think I've heard of that place," she said.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Korra shrugged and had to concede my point there. There were a lot of times during our travels when we had passed places that were barely on a map, much less being household name worthy. That being said, I wouldn't have called Luo Chui a place that wasn't household name worthy.

"So...um," Korra started, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"What?" I asked, not stopping what I was doing. She knew that if she wanted to talk to me about something, she needed to just come out and say it. I never beat around the bush when it came to things that needed to be discussed.

"How are we gonna tell my parents about us?" she asked. I froze mid stance and looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"You haven't told them?"

"I was going to...eventually," she said. We had been together for a little over six months now, so this development was a little surprising.

"Well. Things just got more complicated then they need to be," I said as I collapsed my sword and eased out of the stance I had been in.

"Not really. My parents have always been really understanding and accepting," she said. I just blinked as I regarded her.

"Korra, your dad tried to kill me for traveling alone with you. And that was without him knowing about us being involved romantically," I deadpanned.

"It'll be fine. You'll see," she said, waving it off.

* * *

The White Lotus steamer docked at Air Temple Island's dock while we stood waiting for the passengers to disembark. Korra's mother, Senna, as well as Kya and Katara were really the only ones of interest. Korra and her father eagerly greeted her mother, while I turned my attention to my old friend. Katara was busy greeting her grandchildren, so I stayed back a few paces waiting for my turn.

To be honest I felt like I was intruding a little. Everyone here was related in some way. Through Korra, it was all one big family reunion. I felt a pang of sadness run though my chest as it once again dawned on me just how alone I was in the world. The people I had once held close like this were long gone. Sure I still had family out there, but the generations were getting to the point that they were little more then distant relations. I looked on at Korra as she warmly embraced her mother, and I was left wondering if it would be worth it to subject myself to the pain of having to watch another family move on without me.

"Now that is the gaze of someone who has been around for a while," Katara said, bringing me out of my thoughts. The airbending kids had run off, chasing after their Uncle Bumi, leaving the old waterbending master free to address me for the first time.

"Time gives me little more then the ability to think," I replied. We embraced each other warmly, and I found myself hugging her a little tighter then usual. Sokka, Aang, and Suki were gone. How much longer did I have before I lost her as well?

"You let yourself think too much. Worry not about tomorrow, but focus on today," Katara said. I pulled back and gave her an annoyed smirk. That one was one of mine.

"Using my own words against me now?"

"They've helped me in times when I was too worried about something or too focused on something. I figured you needed a reminder," she said with a smile. Though wrinkled and aged, her face still had the warmth and tenderness it had during her youth.

"You always did have a way with emotions," I said.

"I had some help," she replied. My thoughts briefly wandered back to a long ago time, and my cheeks gained a little color.

"Ba Sing Se was a long time ago," I said. Katara smiled again as she realized what I was referring to.

"As I'm sure you're aware, when you get older all you really have left are your memories. There's nothing wrong with revisiting times in the past, pondering over how your actions got you to where you are now, or how things might have played out different," she said. We turned toward the kids, who were working together to try and take Bumi down without using their bending.

"Do you have any regrets?" I asked.

"I wouldn't trade a second of it. Not even the time I had with you," she answered after a long pause. I gave her hand a squeeze, silently telling her how much I appreciated that statement. For those of you wondering just what the hell we're talking about, there was a space of about two weeks or so toward the end of the War where Katara and I...um...dated, kinda.

It was during the time when the group was trying to find Appa as well as get an audience with the Earth King in an effort to tell him about the Day of Black Sun. I had been traveling under an assumed name and had arrived in Ba Sing Se amongst a group of refugees, hoping to find some rest and a little reprieve from the war.

We'd met in a small market while she was out buying groceries for the group and hit it off pretty well. Of course, neither one of us knew who the other actually was. Unfortunately after a couple of weeks experimenting, we found that although we made great friends, being romantic partners wasn't going to work out. So with a final kiss we parted ways on good terms. You can imagine the shock we both experienced a few months later when the war ended and I offered to train Aang in the ways of the sword.

There was an unspoken agreement between the two of us that we never told Aang what had happened in Ba Sing Se. As far as I knew, she never told any of the others either, preferring to keep it a secret that we shared. There was no telling how the others would have reacted, and besides, by the time Aang and Katara had gotten married it was ancient history anyway.

"I will say this though. As I have gotten older, I've understood your sadness more and more. My husband, my brother, and many of my friends are gone," Katara said. I glanced down at my boots and lightly turned a rock over.

"The trick isn't learning how to live without them, its learning how to live with yourself after they are gone," I said. We were interrupted by Korra motioning toward me, telling me to go to her. Katara gave me a smile and a pat on the shoulder before sending me off. I was probably going to die horribly, and she'd get some amusement out of watching it. Korra meet me about half way before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me toward her waiting parents.

"Have you figured out how you're going to do this?" I asked, keeping my voice low enough so only she and I could hear.

"I'm going to keep it nice and smooth, ease them into it," she replied without looking back at me. We came to a halt in front of her parents, both of whom were looking between her and me with a curiosity.

"Korra, who's...?" her mother started.

"Mom, Dad, you remember Ryou? My five hundred year old boyfriend?" Korra interrupted, blurting everything out in a hurried tone. Both of her parents blinked in shock, and I face palmed. Oh yeah, this was going so well.

"I...I'd say we have a lot to talk about," her mother said.

"And I have several questions," her father added, a renewed fire alight in his eyes as he regarded me. I swallowed the lump that was in my throat. This was going to go just great.

* * *

"I'm really sorry about my Dad," Korra said from her position behind me. Takeko, her, and myself were all riding on Ashe's back, high above the Northern Mountains in the Earth Kingdom. I still had a small ball of ice pressed against my eye in an effort to get the swelling to go down.

"Maybe you shouldn't have blurted out everything right at the beginning," I said. Our talk with her parents had actually been going somewhat well, that is until the topic of my age came up. After using some old paintings and photographs to confirm that I was indeed as old as the claims were, Tonraq had flown off the handle and decked me square.

If I was the age that I appeared to be, namely about twenty or so, then there wouldn't have been an issue as Korra was eighteen. But I wasn't, I was five hundred. I was, as he put it; old enough to be a revered ancestor. So yeah, the age difference was something he took issue with. I had to resort to chi blocking in order to get him to stop attacking me.

With the threat of my head being removed from it's perch on my shoulders out of the way, we managed to calm him down into a talking mood again. While both parents weren't overly happy with the age gap, or the conditions we were traveling under, they both understood that at the moment I was the only one who knew how to unblock her bending. An agreement was reached that we would put this conversation on hold until Korra's bending was fully restored.

Which brings us to where we were at the moment, rapidly approaching the city of Luo Chui.

Now many of you may have been wondering, with nicknames like 'the Great Northern Fortress' and 'The Omashu of the North', why is it that it's not that commonly known? Well the answer is because it doesn't really live up to it's nicknames. When Chin the Conqueror's armies swept over the continent, Luo Chui had fallen without a sword being drawn. During the Hundred Year War, the city's location meant that it formed a natural protection for the Earth Kingdom Capital. However it fell after only two weeks of being besieged by the Fire Nation. The city's fall would serve as the kick start for the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and it would remain in Fire Nation hands till the end of the war.

Luo Chui from the air resembled a city that had been built into a bowl. It had been built in the crater of an extent volcano, or at least that's what I had observed during my visits. According to legend, the city had been founded by an ancient earthbending hero named Yu Guan. Guan had done battle with the god of war, and during the fight had managed to sever the head off of the deity's war hammer before casting it to the Earth. When the battle was over, Guan had recovered the hammer for himself and had built a city in the crater where the hammer had landed, and thus Luo Chui had been formed.

Corny legends aside, the reason we were here was it's close proximity to the next Oasis we were seeking. The spring of Spirit Water was located at the base of a neighboring mountain, and thus made the next leg of this journey little more then a half days walk on foot.

Takeko had kept her part of the bargain for the most part, giving more information about her former master. Yusei was an ancient and powerful man, not a bender, or at least not one that she had observed. He had been involved with the White Lotus for sometime, but that had ended shortly after the end of the war with him leaving the Order. His mission seemed to be manipulating the world governments and leaders from the shadows, although to what end was something she had never gotten to find out.

"Luo Chui, Omashu's inverted belly button," I said as we touched down in the street, sending a few stray animals running for their lives. Ashe snarled after them, but it was mainly for show as she simply hunkered down where she had landed.

"Why is it Earth Kingdom cities always smell like piss and spices?" Takeko asked as she slid from the dragon's back and landed on the street.

"This is my first trek inland from the coast, I wouldn't really know," Korra answered as she landed next to her. I had my eyes narrowed as I scanned the street for any signs of danger. Pretty much everyone had run off at the sight of the giant fire breathing lizard. Those that were still around were watching from store fronts or peaking around corners, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. But, if anyone was planning on making trouble, they were no doubt having second or even third thoughts.

"Here," I said, tossing a small sack of coins to Korra,"there's an inn not far up the street. You know the drill, couple rooms for the night and some hot meals."

"Where are you going?" Korra asked.

"To find a place to put Ashe. Can't have her sleeping in the middle of the street," I replied before the dragon took to the sky again. We circled the city once before finding a nice clearing not far from the city gates. I had trained Ashe enough that I was confident she wouldn't burn half the mountain to the ground while chasing a catdeer. Plus if we found ourselves in any trouble, all I had to was whistle and she would come.

I made my way back into the city and began to ask around about the local landscape and wildlife. As far as I knew, the next Oasis might have had a platypus bear making it's nest. Turns out the place had a name. Fang's Barrow was what the locals referred to it as. However, it always came with a warning about strange happenings and people disappearing around it.

Ordinarily I wouldn't have cared, considering we only needed to use the spring for a grand total of about ten minutes at the max. But the nature of the stories, and the fact that the Solstice was fast approaching meant that I was now worried about the possibility of a Spirit attack. I didn't have the means to fight a Spirit properly, so that meant we'd have to avoid it if at all possible.

A light tug and the sudden feel of my sword hilt leaving my hip brought me out of my thoughts. Before my mind had even fully regestered what had happened, my hand shot out and caught the pick pocket by the scruff of his neck as he tried to run off. He was a boy of about twelve or so with dark hair and a dark completion.

"I didn't do anything!" he yelled as I picked him up and turned him so he was facing me. I held up my free hand and wagged my fingers. Reluctantly he placed the sword hilt in my palm.

"You're lucky you didn't stab yourself," I said.

"Come on, man. You got your thing back, just let me go. No harm, no foul," he said.

"You think theft counts as 'no harm'?" I asked.

"It's just a thing."

"Just a thing, huh," I said before extending the blade and holding the tip up to his throat. He let out a yelp and pulled his head back, trying to get away from the razor sharp edge.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Kai, my name's Kai," he answered.

"Do you know what the punishment for theft is, Kai? It's the removal of one's left hand," I said moving the blade away from his neck toward his wrist. But I stopped just as the edge lightly brushed his skin. He remained tense the whole time.

"Theft is still a crime, and as such should only be done if it's that or death. In that case, don't get caught," I said before I released him and collapsed the blade.

"Wait, you're just gonna let me go?" he asked, confused about my sudden change.

"Consider this your one warning, kid. If I catch you again, I'll take a pinky, got it?" I said. He nodded in a hurried motion before running off. I watched him go before holding up a small coin purse and shaking it to get a read on the amount of money inside. The young man had enough on him that I figured one would be compensation for me not taking his hand.

When it comes to pickpockets, I'm kind of on the fence about them. The ones who do it because they're starving have my sympathies, the ones who do it for pleasure have my contempt. Kai? Kai was somewhere in between. He was skinny enough that it was clear he needed it to survive, but the amount of wallets, watches, and purses that were on him stated that either he was buying steak for dinner or he got a thrill out of stealing. If he didn't nip that in the bud now, one day it would get him killed.

Tossing the purse in the air, I caught it as I started toward the Inn I had directed Korra toward, my thoughts turning toward what we may have to come up against. Hopefully we could unblock her earthbending, give Takeko the cure she sought, and be on the road again before trouble of any kind found us. Personally I was looking forward to being parted from Takeko. The red head had tried to kill me a couple of times, and had blinded me during one of her attempts. Needless to say she wasn't all that high on my list. At this point if she was on fire and I had a cup of water, I'd drink the water.

But a deal is a deal, and trouble always has a way of finding me. Tomorrow was going to be interesting to say the least.

 **And cut. Some back story, some more back story, and some things to come. What did you guys think? I wanna know! Drop a review, leave a PM, use a mirror or something. Let me know what you liked or didn't like, or feel free to ask a question or ten, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	20. The Orb

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Chapter twenty, another milestone. Once again, I never would have made it this far without your support. Now, before we get started, someone asked/pointed out that there has been very little physical description of Ryou himself. In my defense, the vast majority of this story has been told through his eyes and Ryou describing himself would be a little narcissistic. Well, I've decided that it's high time I fixed that and gave you a proper description: Ryou stands at an even six feet tall, his hair is a coal black color that is kept trimmed close to his scalp by the time of _LOK_. His eyes are hazel, a mixture of brown and green, his skin tone is dark enough to suggest that he might have a Water Tribe heritage, and he is usually clean shaven. Or a short haired Nanashi from Sword of the Stranger, whichever is easier for you to process. **

**And with that, we're off to the races:**

You know, traveling with two women isn't all it's cracked up to be. Things get even more complicated when both of said women are highly trained in various combat arts, are hot headed, and generally at each others' throats all the time. They go from bad to worse when the sleeping conditions are cramped and there's not enough room for everyone.

"You red headed tramp, I'll cave your skull in!" This was how I woke up to find my two companions in the morning. Korra was standing on one end of the small inn room holding a lamp like a bat while Takeko was on the other, holding a drawer she had ripped out of the small nightstand next to the bed. The two women were hot with anger, which was literal in Korra's case as smoke was coming from her nose.

Sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the only bed in the room, I rubbed what little sleep was left from my eyes. We seriously didn't have time for something like this today. But I had figured out the hard way a long time ago that there are some cat fights you just don't get mixed up in. This? A spat between an Agent and the Avatar? I had half a mind to get out of the city, much less stay in the same room as the two of them.

"You'll need more then a lamp, you half baked fraud!" Takeko shot back.

"Seriously, you two? It's not even eleven yet," I said as I looked at my watch. Up until we had gotten here, these two had actually maintained a professional relationship. Now though, they seemed to be at each other's throats with growing hostility in every passing moment.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" they both roared, briefly taking their eyes off each other to glare at me. I held my hands up in mock surrender. Oh well, if these two wanted to kill each other that badly, who was I to interfere? All I wanted was to not be caught in the crossfire.

"What are you even arguing about, anyway?" I asked. This gave both women pause as they regarded me and then each other.

"Um, what were we arguing about?" Korra asked. Takeko answered with a shrug, and I just shook my head with disappointment.

"Honestly you two, if you're gonna kill each other, at least get your priorities straight. Or wait till noon, I don't really care which," I said as I stood and went into the bathroom to conduct my morning business. Things had somewhat mellowed out when I stepped back out. They weren't yelling at each other anymore, but they were still on opposite sides of the room sulking in silence.

"Come on, we got things to do," I said.

"It's time to go to the spring?" Korra asked, perking up. Takeko did as well, but she made an effort for her movements to be less noticeable.

"Yes," I answered. Korra was excited, not to the point that she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, but enough that you could almost feel the happy rush she was giving off. Takeko was more reserved. She never voiced any impatience or rush to get to the spring like Korra, but you could tell that she was getting restless.

The Red Archer had also been showing more and more signs of aging as time continued to pass. Her hair lost a little more of its luster with each passing day, and her skin was beginning to show more lines. When we had first encountered her all those months ago in Republic City, she looked to be a youthful woman in her mid to late twenties. Now, she looked like that young woman's mother in her late forties or early fifties.

I could understand her toe tapping need to get to the spring. She was literally racing against the clock and trying to outrun time. But just because I understood didn't mean that I cared. Takeko had tried to kill me on more then one occasion. She'd even blinded me once. There are a lot of things that can be forgiven, but mutilation and attempted murder are a little trickier then a stolen wallet. But a bargen is a bargen, and she had kept up her end of the deal. As a result, I was honor bound to hold up my end.

* * *

We set out after eating a light lunch, leaving the city behind and heading into the hills. The closer we got to the Oasis, the more gloomy the landscape seemed to be. Trees seemed to be dead, or sickly at least. The ground was a kind of dark oily color, like fire had scorched it at some point. Finally we arrived at a small stream that flowed out of a narrow valley.

"This place feels…off," Takeko finally said, breaking her long silence. She had her bow in her hand with an arrow nocked as she studied the trees around us.

"I agree, something's not right here," Korra added, her hand dropping to her sword hilt. I didn't say anything, but my hand was on my own sword hilt, and my eyes were studying the landscape around us. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. It wasn't a curious gaze either. Whatever it was, it was hungry.

We came to a set of large pools and paused for a break. I naturally stayed away from the water's edge. The water was simply too dark to see the bottom, and with the chills I had been getting since we'd entered this valley I wasn't taking any chances. Korra, however, felt that we needed more water and began to fill one of her skins from the pool.

"That's probably not…" I started, but was too late. The water in front of her exploded as a large creature sprang from the depths and tackled her. The monstrosity had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. It's skin was a pale milky white, green color with scales, it hands had long sharp claws on the fingers and webbing between each didget. A screech came from it's mouth, revealing several rows of razor sharp teeth.

Hands on Korra's shoulders, the creature forced her to the ground and made to tear out her throat with it's teeth. An arrow struck it in the side of the neck, forcing it off the Avatar and sending it splashing around in the shallows of the pool. Without a second thought, I extended the blade on my sword and jumped into the water. I stabbed the beast again and again until I was satisfied that it was finally dead. Grabbing it by the hair, I dragged the beast out of the pool and onto dry land.

"What is that thing?" Korra asked as she regained her wits.

"I don't know. Some kind of human fish hybrid," I answered as I studied the creature. It appeared to be female, based upon the long hair and breasts that it's human half possessed. Of course it's anatomy could be totally different from a humans and this was actually a male, but I doubted it.

"I've only ever read about things like this," Takeko said as she studied the body much more closely.

"So what is it?" Korra asked. The archer turned the head of the creature one way and then another.

"A human. Or at least it use to be. This unfortunate soul is the result of a possession by a Spirit," she said.

"I'd heard of such things, but I never thought the changes would be this extensive," I said. Believe it or not, there are things even I haven't encountered. Spirits, ones of this kind of power anyway, had been absent from the world long before I started walking it. Despite my encounters with beings such as the Observer, I still knew relatively little about them.

"Assuming the victim survives the possession, they are deformed to resemble the Spirit that possessed them, but they usually retain their sanity. This one, the changes must have been so great that she had no choice to be revert to a more primitive state," Takeko explained.

"So there's an evil Spirit on the prowl in this valley," Korra said.

"Well, not exactly evil. Like humans, all Spirits are capable of good or evil. If imbalance occurs, darkness can take over," Takeko said.

"I take it your old Master taught you this," I said.

"Yeah," she replied, rubbing the back of her head. I nodded, having thought as much. If he was old as I thought, it wasn't overly surprising that he would know about Spirits. With that happy little bit of information stored away in our heads, we set off again. It was probably another hour or so of walking before we finally reached the cave. The valley walls had narrowed down to just the cave entrance itself while the stream flowed out of it.

Korra produced a large flame in the palm of her hand while Takeko readied another arrow, and with that we walked into the dark maw of the opening. The walls of the cave were damp and a light draft sent chills down my spine. Finally, the tunnel opened up into a wide round room. In the center of the room was a large stone arch standing over a rather large fountain of water. Enshrined in the arch above the fountain was a dark green crystal orb. Around the orb were lines of writing, which extended down the arch and onto the walls around the room.

"What kind of writing is that?" Korra asked. The symbols were similar to the characters that were in use around the world, yet they were stylized different, in a simpler more stick like form.

"It's Dragon Speech. The old language of my ancestors," I said.

"We're a long way from Kyoshi Island," she noted. I didn't say anything, but I knew she had a point. The Old Tounge, as it was called during the days of my youth, was still used in some cases around the Island. All of the Kyoshi Warriors had the symbol for warrior on one wrist and the symbol of their rank on the other. Many of the shrines dedicated to Kyoshi herself, and Ban before her were in the language as well. But this, this was the farthest from my home that I had ever encountered it.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with that orb," Takeko said.

"Can you read any of it?" Korra asked me. I walked over to one of the two spots where the arch met the wall and placed my hand upon the writing there. It had been a long time since I had actually read anything in this language. To be honest, I wasn't sure if there was even anyone left who was fluent in it. But, like many things with practice, it slowly began to come back to me.

"It's mainly a warning not to disturb the orb," I said, giving a very rough translation.

"I don't understand. It's just a glass ball, why put so much effort into protecting it?" she asked.

"Because it's not just a trinket used by a fortune teller. It's a piece of the Hong ," Takeko said.

"The Hong? I've never heard of that," Korra said.

"I have. It's a fairy tail, told around the campfire by power hungry treasure hunters," I said.

"But what is it?"

"Xian's Hong is a collection of crystal orbs said to be able to control Spirits," Takeko said.

"A child's tale," I reiterated. Let me give you a quick rundown of the story. Several thousand years ago there lived a shaman/alchemist/wizard guy by the name of Xian. Driven by a quest for power, or an attempt to protect his people from rampaging Spirits depending on the story, he created eight different colored crystal orbs from a rainbow colored dragon. Don't ask how, cause I don't know. That part never made sense to me. Anyway, he created one for each of the four nations, and a second to represent both the light and the dark contained within all things.

Supposedly, Xian succeeded in his goal. But he became so powerful with the Orbs that his four students came to fear him. They then killed him in his sleep and scattered the Hong to the four winds in the hope that no one would ever be able to wield that kind of power again.

When I was younger, I had given the legend a chance and gone in search of it, mainly cause I was board and had nothing else to do. But in my travels and research, I came to the conclusion that it was just that, a legend. Something for people to waste their time on. Standing here, now, in this cave with this green piece of glass wasn't about to change my mind on the topic.

"Right, let's get done what we came here to do," I said.

"Um, Ryou. There's no pool," Korra pointed out. She was right. There was the fountain of water, a few small rings that held water, and then the stream flowing out of the cave, but no actual pool to bathe in.

"Oh. Right. This could be a problem," I said, realizing the problem.

"Hey, what about me? Can I still use this thing or is that gonna be a problem too?" Takeko asked.

"Bathing and having a healer with you would get the best results. But for now simply drinking from it will slow down the aging and buy you time," I said. The archer glared at me, but began to drink from the fountain none the less.

"So what about my bending?" Korra asked. I stood there in silence, pondering what to do. The spring not having a pool wasn't something I was ready for.

"Why don't you try using the orb? It's spiritual and shit," Takeko suggested as she came up for air. Both Korra and I looked at each other before looking at her.

"Spiritual and shit?" Korra asked.

"Hey, I am ninety six years old and I'll talk however I damn please."

"Ninety six? Oh, so young," I said. Korra snickered and Takeko glared. The young woman quickly regained her thought process.

"It doesn't hurt to try," she said. I looked up at the orb before sighing and letting my head fall back.

"Fine. Let's get the damn thing down." Korra wasted no time, going over to the arch and scaling the thing like a hog monkey. She reached the orb, drew her sword and jammed the blade into the housing that kept the object in place. With a few grunts, and a muttered cuss word or two, the orb popped free and I caught it before it could shatter on the stone floor.

It was lighter then I expected, a clear jade green color with a ruby red earth symbol in the center. The thing also seemed to have a soft glow to it, and it felt warm to the touch like someone else had been handling it the whole time.

"Okay, that's done. What now?" Korra asked as she dropped down next to me.

"Now you…meditate with it in your lap, I guess," I said as I handed it to her. She gave me a look.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, the lack of a pool threw me off and I didn't have a plan B," I defended. Korra huffed, but otherwise sat down in a dry spot on the floor and began to meditate with the orb in her lap. She had only been doing this for a couple of minutes when we heard it. A blood curdling howl that echoed up the cave.

"What the hell was that?" Takeko asked as she stood from her spot by the fountain. I drew my sword and a torch, igniting the latter and throwing it down the cave. Clawing their way toward us were several more of the creature we had encountered at the pools in the valley.

"Trouble, and a lot of it," I said, extending the blade. Korra opened her eyes and went to stand.

"How do we handle this?" she asked.

"You finish with that, we'll handle this," I said. She reluctantly sat back down while the archer took a stance next to me with her bow.

"I cannot believe I'm standing here with the man who ruined my life to defend the Avatar."

"I can't believe you're still blaming me for all your problems," I replied.

"Shut the hell up and kill anything that gets past my aim."

 _Korra looked around her. Gone was the dark, dank cave, replaced by brightly lit clouds. She recognized this as the place where she had encountered Aang and Roku before, but this time something felt different. From out of the clouds came a woman. She was tall, dressed in a green kimono and armor of a Kyoshi Warrior, yet she lacked the makeup. Still, Korra recognized her all the same._

 _"Avatar Kyoshi," she greeted with a respectful bow._

 _"I must say I have been looking forward to our meeting, Korra," Kyoshi said as she began to circle the young woman with one of her fans folded in her hand. When she was behind Korra, she gave the current Avatar a quick swat on the rump with the fan, causing her to jump in surprise._

 _"My husband's taste in women has not changed, I see," she said._

 _"Oh. Um, Ryou. Right," Korra said, her face turning red. Upon seeing this, Kyoshi smiled._

 _"Relax, child. I do not hold anger. My time has been passed for a long while. And besides we're both the Avatar, you are me, and I am you. It's almost poetic," she said._

 _"It is a little strange," Korra confessed._

 _"You're sitting in a cave holding a crystal ball while the semi immortal husband of one of your past lives fights off monsters with a sword. Strange is just a day in the life of the Avatar._

 _"I have so many questions."_

 _"I know you do. But our time grows short, and I have warnings that I must pass on to you," Kyoshi said._

 _"Oh. Warnings. Roku and Aang didn't give me warnings," Korra replied. The previous Avatar gave her a look of patience, silently telling her to zip it._

 _"The orb you possess, Xian's Hong, it's real. And there are those out there who would kill to get their hands on it. You must not let this happen."_

 _"Don't lose the magic ball, got it."_

 _"Beware the man known as Unalaq. His actions may seem to be for the greater good, but he only serves his own selfish agenda."_

 _"Wait, Unalaq? As in my uncle? That Unalaq?" Kyoshi didn't answer, but continued on._

 _"And, finally, trust in Ryou. He has dedicated himself to you more then you know," she finished._

 _"Gee, I hadn't noticed what with us sleeping together and what not," Korra said, the words falling out of her mouth before she realized she had said it._

 _"Yes, that was always one his more satisfying perks," Kyoshi said with a soft purr, causing Korra's cheeks to turn crimson again._

 _"So do I have my earthbending back?" she asked, pushing past this moment of embarrassment. Kyoshi stepped forward and placed her hand on Korra's shoulder. A green glow sprang forward as the two women regarded each other._

"I am really starting to hate fish," I said as I beheaded another one of these monstrosities Takeko was firing arrows down the tunnel, killing most of the things coming toward us. Killing most of them, but there were still a few that were getting past. A fact that just made my life that much harder. One of the creatures sprung off of the floor toward me, teeth barred and claws extended. I fell back, stabbing upward into it's belly with my sword as it sailed over me.

"Your girlfriend better hurry up, my quiver is almost empty," Takeko said.

"I got faith in her. Your aim, not so much," I replied as I decapitated the creature I had just stabbed, making sure that it was really dead and not just playing.

"Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence," she said as she let another arrow fly. A groan came from down the tunnel, from behind the thinning ranks of the creatures. Then it appeared, a massive Spirit with the form of a Koi Dragon and dull jade in color. Half fish human abominations were one thing, but a Spirit?

"OH COME ON!" I yelled in frustration. The Spirit advanced quickly, its arms, legs, and face were that of a dragon while the rest of the body was that of a koi. It would have been a sight I would have found rather ridiculous, if not for the fact that it had fangs and claws barred, ready to rip me and my companions to shreds. It trampled and killed what few creatures were left in the tunnel as it came directly at us.

Until it slid to a halt and sat on it's higen legs like a dog waiting for a command from it's master.

Both Takeko and I looked at it and then at each other in confusion. A soft green glow out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, causing me to look behind us for the source. There was Korra, standing just behind us with the orb in her hand. She raised it a little higher, and the artifact glowed a little brighter. The Spirit's form began to glow as well, matching the orb. Then, the glow faded, and the Spirit faded away into a soft shower of sparks.

"Go in peace," Korra said as she lowered the orb. Again, the Archer and I shared a questioning look, as if to ask each other that we had indeed just seen what had just happened.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked, giving a voice to the unspoken question.

"Takeko was right, the Hong is real, and this is a piece of it," Korra answered.

"And who confirmed this for you?"

"Kyoshi." I sucked my teeth in annoyance. Of course, it had to be her. At that moment, Korra came up and full on punched me in the mouth. I reeled back from the hit in surprise, cupping my mouth in pain.

"What was that for?!"

"She said to give that to you so that you would know it was her," Korra explained. I rubbed my lips a little, making sure I wasn't bleeding.

"Should have guessed, I recognized the handwriting," I muttered.

"How did you figure out how to work it?" Takeko asked.

"I'm not really sure, it just kind of came to me," Korra answered, looking into the orb.

"And we're back to stumbling by the seat of our pants. Joy," I said with little enthusiasm, "Come on, we should get moving."

* * *

"So where to now?" Korra asked as we rode on Ashe over the mountains. We had parted ways with Takeko back in the city. Both sides of the deal were complete, so we saw no reason to continue to travel together. Besides, at the rate things were going we probably would have killed each other anyway. Honestly, I wasn't overly disappointed to see her go.

"North. The Northern Water Tribe has the last Oasis," I said.

"What are we going to do after my bending is fully restored?" she asked. I paused in thought. What were we going to do once she had all her bending back?

"I guess that choice will be up to you," I said.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You are still the Avatar, after all. What you say, goes. Besides, we'll have figure out something to do with your new toy," I said, motioning back toward the saddlebag that contained the orb.

"I suppose we will. Wait, you're still willing to stick with me? Even after we fully restore my bending?" she asked.

"Is that even a question?" I replied. Korra wrapped her arms around my midsection before giving me a kiss on the cheek. It was clear my answer had made her happy.

"I love you," she said. I rested my hand on top of hers while I guided Ashe toward the horizon.

"I love you to."

 **And cut. That's it for this chapter. A quick production note for you, the Dragon Speech is actually just Japanese, so sorry to any Skyrim fans who were hoping for a Dovah reference. Also as a quick reminder for those of you who may have missed it. Timeless, the prequel to Ageless, is now out. Be sure to check that out under my profile or under the Avatar, Last Airbender collection. But all that aside, I want to hear from you. If you guys like it or don't like it, I want to know. So please, review, or PM, or send a courier or something. Remember to ask questions or make observations, and I'll see you all next time.**


	21. The North

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. This one's a touch shorter and a little filler, but it's still a chapter all the same:**

Cold. That was absolutely the most basic way to describe the Northern Water Tribe. A deep, bone chilling cold that lasted all year round. Of course things like snow and ice didn't help matters. In fact they only contributed to the cold. It didn't help that all the buildings and structures of the Northern City were build from the ice, making it so that it almost seemed impossible to escape the frigid temperatures.

The people though, they were warm and friendly enough that it almost made the cold bearable. A lot had changed since the end of the war. Women were now on equal footing with men, just like in their sister tribes to the south. Technology had improved somewhat, with electrical lighting being installed and buildings made out of actual building material were starting to be constructed.

Running it all was a man called Unalaq. Northern Chief, Spiritual Expert, and uncle of the Avatar were a few of the titles he held. Unfortunately, he was also a grade A stick in the mud and all around slimy asshole. If he wasn't looking down upon your existence, or trying to woo you with sweet honeyed words, he'd already stuck a knife in your back.

Which was exactly why I didn't even bother landing Ashe in the city. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Unalaq or his ilk. I'd had my fair share during my thirteen year search for the Red Lotus, and frankly I would rather let him grow old and die before setting foot in the same city as him again. That's a perk of being a quasi immortal; don't like someone? Just wait for them to die. You'll get the last laugh every time.

We landed on the glaciers above the City, using a storm to hide our presence. I patted Ashe on the side as she hunkered down, her wings over her like a black leather tent. She simply looked at me and let steam flow from her nostrils. Dragons could withstand extreme cold, but they preferred warmer climates. It was clear she wanted to leave, and quickly.

Korra and I began to scale our way down the ice wall to the Spirit Oasis, with her mainly using her airbending to gently glide us down. We were both dressed in heavy parkas with the hoods up. In reality we looked more like thieves rather then pilgrims trying to reach the spring unnoticed. Once we reached the bottom, Korra went to work right away, stripping off her coat and other clothing as she made her way to the pool.

The Spirit Oasis hadn't changed one bit since the war. It was like someone had stopped the march of time. The only things that were moving it seemed were the twin koi fish in the pool, circling each other in their eternal dance.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked. This was it. Our long, globe trotting journey was almost at an end.

"Are you sure today is the best day to do it?" she asked.

"It's the solstice today. The lines between worlds are blurred. If we're ever going to get things done, today's the day to do it," I said. Korra looked from me to the pool before her before taking a breath.

"I'm ready," she answered before stripping down to her bindings and wading to the center of the pool, standing in the middle of the circling koi. She closed her eyes and folded her hands together in a meditative form.

"The Water Chakra deals with pleasure, and is blocked by guilt. Forgive yourself for mistakes you have made, and then hurl yourself at all of your past lives. Break down the barrier and access yourself fully," I instructed. Korra took a long, deep breath. In thru the nose, out thru the mouth. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the Avatar's body shot straight down into the pool, and she vanished without even a single splash. I had no choice but to wait for her to return. Things could go horribly wrong if I tried to intervene.

You might be wondering why we were back to using this method, and not using the orb we'd used like last time. There's a couple reasons. First, I didn't trust the damn thing as far as I could throw it. If it actually was a piece of Xian's Hong, and I still wasn't fully convinced it was, there was no telling what it could do. Second, people would be after the thing if they found out what it could do. The Hong Legend aside, if people learned about an object that could restore or possibly even bestow bending on someone, they'd stop at nothing to get their hands on it. As far as I was concerned, the longer it stayed hidden, the easier our lives would be.

The pool flared with a bright blue light from it's depths. Then the water in the ring that surrounded the small pool shot skyward. It rose about ten feet or so in the air before freezing solid. That same glow illuminated from the ice wall that surrounded me as I looked around in awe. Then, just as quickly as it had rose up, the light in the ice faded, and the ice itself melted.

Korra exploded from the center of the pool, her mouth sucking in air as she broke the surface. Water flew everywhere as she stood to her full height and raised her arms. A pillar of water surrounded her and lifted her upward. I took several steps back as she opened her eyes, revealing the white glow of the Avatar State. One by one, she bent each of the four elements. Air, Fire, Earth, and Water.

I couldn't help but smile with pride as I watched this unfold. She had done it, she had reclaimed all the elements and unlocked the Avatar State. Korra lowered herself back into the pool and the glow faded from her eyes. I caught her as she stumbled a little and almost fell.

"Well done, Avatar Korra," I said with pride. She looked up at me with a tired smile before kissing me gently.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she said as she bent the water off of herself before getting dressed again. I just smiled as I waited for her to finish. A very long and difficult task was finally done. I didn't really care who was responsible, just that it was in fact finished.

"How far back did you go?" I asked.

"To the beginning. A firebender, Wan, he was the first Avatar," Korra answered. Ah yes, the first Avatar. I'd heard and seen his name referenced a few times in my years, but I had never gotten his full story. What little there was, the details were mutteled at best. Granted this was to be expected from a story that was thousands of years old. But that didn't make it any less frustrating.

"I've heard the name," I noted.

"You have?" she asked, her eyebrows going up in surprise. I made an iffy motion with my hand.

"Kind of. The details are…skewed at best," I answered.

"So what's the plan now?" Korra asked. As I began to answer, I felt the hair on my neck stand on end. My hand fell to my sword hilt as I slid into a stance, suddenly on point. Korra's hand also went to her sword, ready to face whatever threat was about to descend upon us even if she didn't know what was happening.

Several men wearing blue uniforms suddenly appeared, their arms held in bending ready stances. They completely surrounded us, forcing Korra and I to stand back to back. These guys were soldiers from the Northern Army which meant…

"Avatar Korra, welcome to the Northern Water Tribe," Unalaq said as he stepped through the entrance to the Oasis. Oh great, just what we needed.

* * *

You know, if there's anything I've learned in all my years, it's that people are assholes. People in positions of power? They a special kind of asshole. Then there's the level of commitment to the art style that Unalaq rests on. A high and mighty sense of superior righteousness that seriously needed to be culled with a fist to the face. Not that it would do any good in the long run.

I found myself separated from Korra and seated in a military interrogation room. My sword had been taken from me, although I had been left out of chains. There were two waterbending guards in the room with me, however, to dissuade me from doing anything rash. Technically I wasn't under arrest, but I wasn't free to go either. I was in some kind of legal limbo as I waited for something to happen. Eventually I got board, leaned back in my seat and started counting the lines on the ceiling. That is, until the door to the room swung open to reveal the Chief of the North himself.

"If I recall, my last words to you were an order to leave the Water Tribe and never return," he said, his voice as cold as the air outside.

"As I remember, mine to you were something along the lines of 'cold meat helps the swelling better than ice'. How's the eye, Chief?" I asked, shooting him an amused glance. Unalaq's glare, however, was anything but.

"You have the gaul to dare set foot in my city, after everything you've done…"

"I haven't done anything to you or your precious Northern Water Tribe," I interrupted.

"You have been in conference with things beyond your understanding," he countered, stepping forward and grabbing my left hand before holding it up to show me the Mark that was there. Ah yes, the Observer's Mark. A small little cut on the back of my hand for which the Spiritually attuned Chief before me had done nothing but ridicule for the last fourteen years or so.

"You still haven't learned how to mind your own business," I countered as I yanked my hand free of his grasp.

"Matters of heresy are my business."

"Only if that matter is conducted by members of the Northern Water Tribe, of which I am not. Now, if you are quite done making a fool of yourself, I'll take my belongings and my companion and be on my way," I said.

"I see nothing has changed. You're still as ignorant as ever," he said with a huff.

"And you're still a self entitled ass, but honestly which one of us is keeping track?" Unalaq pursed his lips, but otherwise didn't reply. Instead he went to the room's entrance and opened the door.

"You may do what you wish with him, I have no further use," he said to someone outside before stepping out himself. Stepping into the cell was a rather large and well built man with white hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. A rather nasty scar ran down his left cheek, and his face was slightly aged and rough. He was dressed in a variant of a Water Tribe uniform with a brown leather chest piece covering his torso. On his hip rested a highly decorated, gold plated Jian sword.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked as he crossed his arms. His voice was deep and rough. I blinked once in order to hide the shock of me recognizing it.

"Yusei," I answered, my face remaining stoic as I studied him.

"How very perceptive of you, Ryou of Kento," he said.

"There hasn't been a Kento for hundreds of years. They call it Kyoshi now," I said.

"Hm, forgive me. Names change so often it's hard to keep track," he said.

"What is it you want?" I asked, deciding to cut right to the point.

"Ah. Such a simple question, for which so many complex answers exist. I suppose the simplest and broadest answer I could give you would be this; I want the survival and prosperity of Creation to continue, as it did in the ages long since past," he answered. I studied him as he paced back and forth before me. He wasn't like the others, he carried himself differently.

He walked like I did, under the weight of having lived far longer then he should have.

"How old are you?" I asked. He paused in his pacing and looked back at me curiously.

"Why do you ask?"

"So I can better understand your answer."

"I am not sure you would believe me," he said.

"You referred to me by the old name of my home. You know how old I am. Try me," I challenged.

"Around ten thousand. You know how it is. Over time it gets more difficult to track an exact age."

"So when you say you want things as they were in the past, you mean the distant past, in the era before the Avatar," I pressed.

"That is what I mean," he confirmed. I frowned at this. Very little documentation has survived from the past era. What few texts and legends that we had all indicated the same thing; the era before the Avatar was a horrible time for humanity.

"You could join me, you know. Help me return this world to it's natural state," he offered.

"And what? Undo ten thousand years of human progress? No thanks," I said.

"Progress?" he asked before turning to face me fully, "you call this progress? Humanity has done nothing but fight wars and ravage the world for it's resources. It's not better, it's worse."

"Worse? Ten thousand years ago humanity was cowering in the mud, living in fear of everything around it. You'd sacrifice everything to return to that level of ignorance?" I asked.

"You and I have lived longer than anyone else. You've seen the folly of man. One generation after the next, it's all the same. More corruption, more fighting, more death. We have a chance to break the cycle, Ryou. A chance to begin again. Please, join me," he said before offering his hand. I've seen extremists before. They come in all shapes, sizes, and causes. But this man, he took the cake.

He wasn't just someone who had a dream. If what he said about his age was true, that meant he had actually lived in and seen the type of world he wanted. This guy actually wanted to return mankind to a time of fear and ignorance, all to make the world a better place. It was a concept I found mind boggling, and wolf bat shit insane.

"I think," I said as I stood, "I will take my things and go."

"Go?" he asked, visibly stunned at my answer.

"Yes, go. As in head out, move on," I elaborated.

"But…"

"Listen, Yusei. I'm not one to interfere with the affairs of others. If you want to try and take down civilization with the world's fourth largest army, be my guest, I won't try to stop you. But if you come after that which I love, I promise, you'll find that sweet, sweet death we both know you've been looking for," I promised. Both he and the guards stood there and watched with their mouths agape as I causally walked out of the room as if I owned the place. I went to the admission desk and got my sword hilt back before I set off to find where Korra was. After about fifteen minutes of asking several different people and checking different rooms I finally found her.

She was seated in Unalaq's private office with a passive expression on her face. Both Unalaq and her were seated in large leather arm chairs before a rather large fireplace. On the floor between them was a platypus bear rug. Unalaq himself was in the middle of telling some sort of tale involving Spirits, something about the need to open a portal or something.

"Let's go," I said, motioning to Korra to follow me. Unalaq, like his men, was gaping at me. Korra used this chance to flash me a grateful smile before she stood and followed me out of the room. At the door, she turned back to the Northern Chief.

"Thank you, Uncle. I found your knowledge on the Spirits to be enlightening," she said before giving a respectful bow and walking out of the room. It wasn't until we were outside of the building that we started to talk.

"So, the office treatment, huh? What was he trying to get out of you?" I asked.

"Something about needed to open a pair of Spirit Portals in order to restore some spiritual balance and stop some attacks that have been happening," she explained.

"It's the solstice. Spirit attacks are common around the solstice," I said.

"Which was what I said. He looked a little surprised. I don't think he was expecting me to know as much as I do about Spirits," she said. I hummed in response as we walked. Mainly I was pondering what those two could have been up to. Unalaq had stated that he wanted to bring some attacks to a stop, so his intentions were implied to be honorable. But Yusei had outright said he wanted to bring civilization crashing down.

That meant that either the white haired man was manipulating the Northern Chief, or Unalaq's intentions were far more sinister than he was letting on.

"What are you thinking?" she asked when she noticed the look on my face.

"We need to put as much distance as we can between ourselves and this place as quickly as we can," I answered.

"You think my uncle is up to something?"

"I'm not sure. Not yet anyway. His advisor is, I know that for certain."

"So you think he's manipulating Unalaq."

"That, or they're working together. Either way, it's best we put some distance between us and them before they get and rash ideas," I said. Now Korra was giving me a doubtful look.

"You really think Unalaq would try something against me? I'm the Avatar, and you, you're not only my instructor but my lover as well. The other nations would be up in arms if he tried anything against us. I think you're getting paranoid in your old age," she said.

"Perhaps. But none of the other nations know we're here," I pointed out. To the outside world, we'd gone down the rabbit hole somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, and had yet to come out again. Unalaq could very easily arrest us and hold us here for months before anyone realized something was wrong.

As if to prove my point, the moment we stepped outside of the building, we were surrounded by soldiers who had their hands in bending ready stances. Korra instantly stood with her back to mine, her own hands falling into a stance. I placed my hand on my sword hilt, but didn't draw it in order to keep from being cut down where I stood.

"By order of Chief Unalaq, you two are under arrest," the leader of the soldiers said.

"I don't want to say I told you so…but…" I said over my shoulder. Korra huffed a grunt, but otherwise remained silent and on point. I didn't even bother waiting on a response as I pressed my upper teeth into my bottom lip and blew a high pitched whistle. For a moment, the sound echoed off of the buildings, but then it faded into an awkward silence.

"What good did that do?" the leader asked. As if to answer him, a distant roar echoed off of the buildings. The soldiers looked from us to the sky, trying to locate the source of the noise.

"You haven't been to the big city, have you? That's the noise you make when you're trying to get a taxi," I said.

"Idiot, there are no taxis out here."

"Well lucky for me, I know something that does better in a pinch," I said. With that, Ashe landed on top of the leader and a few others around them, smashing them flat into the snow underfoot. She let out a massive roar, baring her teeth at the remaining troops, who had taken several steps backward out of surprise and fear. Korra and I wasted no time in hurrying forward and climbing onto the black dragon's back.

Realizing that we were getting away, the troops began to advance. One of them made the mistake of throwing an ice spike at us. Korra easily caught it and turned it to steam with her own bending. But the damage had already been done. Ashe opened her maw and unleashed a powerful stream of fire, enveloping the remaining troops with ease. In an instant, they were reduced from men at the ready to shambling pillars of fire.

Without waiting to see what she had accomplished, Ashe cut off the stream of fire before forcing herself into the air with a powerful downward thrust from her wings. We circled over the scene once before angling southward, back toward warmer regions. Unalaq wouldn't send anyone else after us. At least, not from his main military anyway. By the time he'd be able to muster anyone, we'd be back in Earth Kingdom or United Republic territory.

Assassins though, they'd be a problem if we weren't careful.

"Well. That didn't quite go over like I thought it would," Korra said.

"We'll need to be careful. Unalaq won't take this slight against him laying down," I warned.

"So what do we do?"

"Be ready for anything," I answered.

 **And cut. That's it for both this chapter and Korra restoring her bending arc. Next, we're moving on into the events around Harmonic Convergence. Remember to read, review, drop a PM, or leave a question or ten and as always, I'll see you all next time.**


	22. The Black Book

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We've finally broken two hundred all across the board. Once again, I cannot thank you guys enough for your support. But you're not here for my thanks, you're here for the new stuff, so lets get on with it:**

I shifted through the pile of books and scrolls, my eye reading the title of every work before it was set aside as it wasn't relevant to my search. For almost two days, my search had been similar to this. There were very few works that covered the topic I was researching, so it wasn't surprising that I was turning up empty handed so much.

It had been about two weeks since our return to Republic City. Korra had spent a lot of that time reunited with her friends, as well as restoring people's bending with the Orb. While I still had my doubts over the artifact, I couldn't deny the results it produced. Which was why I was here now, trying to find out more about it and it's companions if they were out there.

Tenzin had been against the use of the Orb, believing that not only was it too risky to use given the amount of unknown variables surrounding it, but also that there were those who would attempt to steal or kill for it once they saw it's power. He wasn't wrong, and I found myself agreeing with him. But Korra was the Avatar so the choice ultimately fell to her. She chose to use it to help people, regardless of the risks.

My hand fell on a leather bound tome, which gave me pause. The book was older than a lot of the others in the collection here on Air Temple Island. I carefully opened the brown text and peered at it's contents. The entirety of it was written in Classical Air Nomad, a language that had been used by the airbenders amongst themselves for thousands of years. Very few outsiders ever had the privilege of being able to hear it spoken aloud, much less learn it.

I was about to set the book aside. After all, a book is only useful when you're able to read it, which I and just about every other person alive could not. But there were notes. Little scribbles that had been added in much more recently, acting as a translation of sorts. I couldn't help but smile as I recognized that the handwriting belonged to Aang. Even until his final days, he had dedicated himself to preserving everything about his culture, and this was no exception.

According to Aang's translations, the book was the journal of Altan, an Air Nomad Avatar that lived several thousand years ago. Altan, from what I could gather, had set out into the world looking Xian's Tome, a book which the creator of the Hong left behind that supposedly contained all of his secrets and knowledge.

This held my attention much more than anything else in this dusty library had. Apparently, somewhere out there was a handbook on how to use this ancient artifact, as well as many other secrets lost to time. I read through the rough translations of Altan's adventures. Apparently he eventually did find the tome. However he was so frightened by it's contents and what they could possibly unleash upon the world that he entrusted it to the one being he knew could guard it.

Wan Shi Tong.

According to the journal, the great knowledge Spirit had taken the tome into his collection, and it had vanished into the vast shelves of his library, where it had rested ever sense. I couldn't help but frown at that revelation. Wan Shi Tong had, for the longest time, kept his library hidden in the heart of the Si Wong Desert. Then, seventy years ago, he had sunk it beneath the sands, returning it to the Spirit World and barring human entry.

I sat back in my seat and folded my arms, a little miffed at what I had just learned. Finding the tome meant a trip to the Spirit World. Trips to the Spirit World were on the list of things that were difficult at best to accomplish. I'd never been spiritual enough to actually attempt a crossing into the Spirit World. Between the Observer and a huge amount of unknown factors, the risk just wasn't worth it.

Then I remembered something Korra had said up north, about how Unalaq had wanted her to open some Spirit Portals. That got me thinking. Perhaps there was a way to make the crossing without having to leave our bodies and being defenseless. The whole thing required much more research into topics which, frankly, I currently didn't have the material at my disposal to cover.

"Find anything useful?" Korra asked in my ear as she leaned over my shoulder. I shook my head.

"Not much. How was it today?" I asked as I closed the ancient journal and stood, popping a few knots out of my back in the process.

"Exhausting, like usual. It seems like every time I restore one person's bending, two more take their place," she said.

"It'll be over before you know it," I reassured her. She grunted, but didn't give a response otherwise. We left the library and headed toward the dinning hall. I had to admit, it was much quieter around here without Tenzin's family being present. The Airbending Master and his family had set off on an extended vacation in order to visit the four Air Temples a few weeks ago, leaving shortly before we had returned to Republic City.

After being on the road for so long, Korra was in no mood to travel. So we had pretty much settled in and waited for Tenzin to get back. The Acolytes had been a little rustled at first, namely at us sharing a bedroom. But a reassurance from Korra that we would behave ourselves put them at ease somewhat.

Not that I really cared. Truth be told, I found some amusement in causing the monks some discomfort. But I was nice and kept it small, steeling an occasional kiss from Korra in broad view of everyone or, if I was feeling a little more routy, a passing slap on the rer. When she realized what I was doing, Korra was both annoyed and amused by the situation. She could see where the idea of making the monks uncomfortable was entertaining to me, but at the same time she had grown to respect the Acolytes and didn't want to cause them too much discomfort.

"You've been in the library since we got back. You need to get out and get some fresh air," Korra said as we entered the dining hall and got ourselves a couple of bowls of rice.

"Well I've had a few leads I was trying to track down," I defended as we sat down at a table and began to eat.

"And those leads are?"

"Things you'd find so boring you'd be passed out face down in your rice by the time I got done explaining them," I said. She poked her rice with her chopsticks a little.

"Yeah, probably. I always did find book work boring," she said.

"Tell you what, why don't we go out into the city tonight," I offered. She looked up from her bowl in surprise at my sudden suggestion.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not? I could get out and stretch my legs some," I said.

"So, we can go on an actual date, like an actual couple?" she asked.

"If you want. Though, we've been together long enough I didn't think that really applied anymore," I said.

"Eating something next to a campfire you built because we stopped to rest for the night is not something I would consider a date," she deadpanned. I shrugged.

"Everyone has their preference, I guess. Alright, it's a date." She gave me a warm smile at that.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Say what you will, but even after five hundred years I'm still not much of a romantic. We went to a small, dimly lit place for dinner. The kind that had a candle on every table and required you to at least put a little effort into your appearance. Korra was forced to leave her sword back on the island and actually spruce up her appearance a little. I did the same, but kept my sword hilt on my belt.

We ate and then headed to the park for a nice evening stroll. It was late spring, almost summer now, so the temperatures outside were fairly comfortable. For the most part we were silent, just enjoying the evening and each other. I couldn't help but steal glances at her from time to time. Even though I had seen her face almost every day for almost a year now, I still found her to be breathtaking.

"You're staring," she said, still looking straight ahead.

"Well, I like the view," I replied with a smile. She smirked and nudged me with her elbow.

"Have you really not made any progress in that library?" she asked. I made a rocking motion with my hand.

"There were some references to a tome, a handbook for the Hong if you will," I said.

"And?"

"And the last place it was seen was in the Spirit World," I explained.

"Oh. I see the problem," she said.

"Yeah, so dead end, I guess."

"Maybe…" she said hesitantly, like she was thinking of something. I paused and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What?" I asked.

"What if we went on an expedition to recover the tome?" she asked. I blinked once.

"How? Neither one of us has been able to make the crossing in case you haven't noticed."

"We wouldn't be meditating into the Spirit World," she said, "we'd make a physical crossing."

"How?" I asked with some hesitation, not entirely sure if I liked where this was going.

"The Portals my uncle talked about. We could use one to enter the Spirit World and then find the tome," she said. I couldn't help but frown at the idea. It wasn't a bad one, exactly. But I just couldn't help but feel uneasy about it.

"I don't know. Unalaq wanted them open for a reason, and whatever it is, it's not good," I said, raising my hand to my chin in thought.

"So we've hit a dead end," she concluded. I ran over all of our options in my head again. Physically opening a portal wasn't something I wanted to do unless we had absolutely no other option. Once that was done, there was nothing to stop Unalaq or his goons from getting what they wanted in the Spirit World. That meant if we wanted to enter the other Realm, we'd have to meditate there.

"All paths are possible, so long as you have the right guide," I muttered to myself as I came to a halt, a possible solution coming to mind.

"What?"

"There might be a way for us to meditate into the Spirit World," I said. Korra frowned at me.

"I thought we just established that neither one of us has been able to do that."

"We haven't," I confirmed.

"Then how do you plan on pulling this off if we can't do it?"

"I think that we can, we just need the right person to guide us," I said.

 ** _Southern Air Temple._**

Ashe circled the mountaintop temple, allowing us to look down upon it in all of it's restored glory. For so long, the building had sat abandoned and devoid of human life. It was refreshing to see it look like it did before the war again. I guided Ashe to land in a small courtyard, where we were greeted by a few of the Acolytes.

"Can we help you, travelers?" an elderly woman with spectacles asked.

"Is Tenzin still here?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. Master Tenzin is here in the Temple. Do you know him?"

"Take us too him," I said, not wanting to waste time as I dismounted from the dragon's back. Korra followed my example, sliding down Ashe's scales without saying a word. At the sight of the sword that rested on the Avatar's hip, the group of Acolytes' faces grew concerned.

"We must respectfully ask that you do not bring weapons into the Temple," one of them said. Korra sent a glare toward the man who spoke.

"I'm the Avatar. Take us to see Tenzin immediately," she said sternly. Despite looking uncomfortable, they did as they were told and led us to Tenzin. The Airbending Master was relaxing in a courtyard with his infant son asleep on his chest. To say he looked surprised to see us would have been an understatement.

"Korra, Ryou, what are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't sit up or raise his voice however, in an effort to not disturb Rohan.

"We need to get to the Spirit World," Korra said.

"I would be honored to be your Spiritual Guide," he said. I held up a single finger, causing him to fall silent.

"Not you. Where's Jinora?" I asked. A look of confusion crossed his face.

"Jinora? Last I checked she was in the Statue Room. Why do you need her?"

"Jinora can see and sense Spirits, Tenzin. No offense, but she's much better suited for the job," I said.

"But…Jinora is only eleven years old. She can't possibly…"

"Tenzin, have you or have you not been to the Spirit World?" I interrupted.

"Well…not exactly…"

"Then let go of your pettiness and get Jinora," I said. To say I was starting to get impatient would have been an understatement. I couldn't help but shake the feeling that we were somehow on the clock, and that was causing me to become irritable. Not knowing what was going on, while knowing that something was going on, was frustrating.

Tenzin reluctantly shifted Rohan so that he was sleeping with his head resting on his father's shoulder before he stood and led us toward the Statue Room. The last time I had set foot in this place was about sixty years ago, when the Air Acolytes had first moved in to begin restoring the Temple. Not a lot had changed since then. The statues had been cleaned up, and a new one of Aang had been added, but that was it.

We split up in order to look for the young girl in question. Well, Korra and I did anyway. Tenzin headed off in order to properly put his son down for a nap. As I wandered, I found Bumi standing before the statue of his father with a solemn look on his face.

"I tried my best to make the world a better place. I hope I made you proud," he said to the statue.

"You did," I said, stepping forward. Bumi jumped at my sudden appearance.

"Uncle Ryou, when did you…"

"Relax, Bumi," I said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Together, we looked on at the statue of his father.

"Did I really make him proud?" he asked, his voice sounding small.

"You did. He was always so proud that you were willing to lay down your life in order to defend what he and all his friends had fought to create," I said.

"He could have stood to mention it a time or two," Kya said, emerging from a different angle within the statues. By this point, I had started to follow the spiral of statues outward from Aang. I stopped briefly at Roku, and then at Kyoshi.

"Do you doubt your father's love for you, Kya?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of my long dead wife.

"No, but…"

"Then why do you complain? Aang loved all three of you equally. Yes, he was the Avatar, and yes, he dedicated his life to preserving the Air Nomad culture. But don't think for one second that he wouldn't have thrown all that away for you three or your mother," I said.

"It's not that I doubt Dad loved us, it's just a little frustrating to hear Tenzin talk about the past sometimes. According to him, it was nothing but adventures and fun times," Kya explained as she came over to stand next to me.

"Your brother still holds Aang in the highest regard. He has pleasant memories, as I'm sure you two do as well," I said. Kya frowned and looked toward her brother and the statue of her father.

"I do," she admitted.

"Then let the boy have them. In the end, that's all we really have left of those who are gone," I said as I reached out and gently brushed my finger tips against Kyoshi's statue.

"You know that Tenzin is fifty two, right?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

"Oh to be so young again," I said, giving her a small smile. Kya just shook her head before her tone grew more serious.

"What are you doing here, Ryou? I thought you and Korra were going to take a long break in Republic City."

"Something new has come up. We're looking for someone to guide us through meditation into the Spirit World," I explained.

"So you came to get old stiff and serious, did you?" Bumi asked as he came over to join us. I shook my head.

"No, actually. We came for Jinora." Bumi looked confounded, while Kya simply cocked an eyebrow at me. The waterbender's look told me that she wasn't questioning my choice, but rather was waiting for me to present the reasoning behind it.

"But, Tenzin has his tattoos, why not just use him?" Bumi asked.

"Having the tattoos means you've mastered airbending, Bumi, it says nothing about how in tune you are with the Spirits," I explained.

"And you think Jinora is?" he asked.

"I know so," I answered confidently.

"How?" Kya asked.

"I've seen her talking with Spirits. She's the most spiritually tuned airbender I've seen in decades. Not even your father was as in tune as she is," I said.

"Hm. I thought as much. I've noticed a lot of energy signatures around her," Kya said.

"And you didn't bother to say anything?" Bumi asked. I held back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Why exactly do you need to get into the Spirit World anyway?" the retired commander continued.

"We'll explain everything once we find Jinora," I answered. We didn't have to wait long, as Korra and Jinora appeared soon after, with Tenzin arriving not long after them.

"Korra, what is all this about?" Tenzin asked.

"You'll have to ask Ryou. He knows more about this than I do," she answered. I stepped forward and took a knee in front of the young girl. She returned my gaze quietly, curious as to why I had come to her of all people. I silently removed the glove from my left hand before holding the hand out to her. This was it, the final test to see if she was really in tune to the Spirits as I believed her to be.

Jinora silently raised her hands to touch my own. However, before she actually made contact, she paused. Her eyes went wide as she hovered over the Mark that was there, and her breathing became shorter and more ragged.

"You've been touched by a Spirit, a very powerful Spirit at that," she said. I gave her a single, slow nod of my head.

"Yes, little one. I have. What else can you tell me?"

"I…I've only felt such power from one other being," she said, looking toward Korra as she spoke.

"Do you know why we've come to you, Jinora?" I asked.

"You need help," she answered, lowering her hands.

"Yes. Korra and I need a guide into the Spirit World. Do you think you can do it?" I asked. The young girl looked unsure of herself.

"I'm not sure. I've never been to the Spirit World."

"But you've seen your Spirit friends, have you not?" I questioned. She nodded.

"Yes."

"Born in you, little one, is the ability to see beyond the boundaries of the Realms. If you can see what others cannot see, than you can tread where others cannot tread. So I will ask again, can you guide us there, Jinora?" I asked again. At first, she looked unsure of herself. But then, that melted into a look of determination that belonged to someone far older in age.

"I'll do it," she said.

* * *

Although Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi were unsure about everything, Jinora was determined to do the job we had asked of her. When she learned that our destination was the largest library in existence, the young girl was practically jumping with excitement at the thought. Tenzin became a little more against the idea when he learned we were trying to get to Wan Shi Tong's Library, but he allowed it when it was pointed out that both the Avatar and a five hundred year old swordsman would be watching over his daughter.

We started out mediating in a circle in the middle of the statue room. Some insese sticks and candles were lit to help. The others stood and watched while Korra, Jinora, and I closed our eyes and focused outward.

For what must have been hours, the only thing I could sense was what was going on around me. I found the smell of burning incense and candle wax to be distracting. The stone floor was cold. Every single twitch and scratch Bumi made seemed to be amplified by a hundredfold. Just as I was about to give up, I took a deep breath and focused outward again.

Then I felt it. A presence, somewhere beyond the edge of my being calling to me, beckoning me forward. I realized that it was Jinora, and in my mind's eye I began to follow the girl. It's almost impossible to describe what I felt as I left my body further and further behind. There was a level of freedom and bliss I had never felt before, and I almost didn't want it to end.

Suddenly, Jinora's presence vanished, and I felt cool once more. I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to find myself back in the statue room. However this wasn't the case. The room I was in was a copy of the statue room, sure enough, but a large section of the wall and floor before me was gone. Beyond it was an inky purple darkness that seemed to stretch on for eternity.

Standing, I hesitantly approached the edge and looked down, only to see the same endlessness below me. Feeling a little light headed, I stepped back and looked around. There seemed to be no one else here. I glanced down at my hand and noticed that the Mark was glowing with a faint golden light. I flexed my fingers and turned my hand over a few times, but nothing felt out of the ordinary.

"Jinora?" I called, "Korra?" My voice didn't have an echo, instead sounding flat and monotone as if I was a small enclosed room. I was sure that I wasn't in the Spirit World. From the accounts I had heard, no matter where you found yourself in the Spirit World there was always some form of life. Here, there was nothing.

"So. The Wanderer has finally come home." I felt a chill run down my spine at the voice. Only one being had that voice. Turning, I found myself face to face with The Observer. He was standing a short distance away from me in his monk attire with his arms folded.

"Where am I? Where's Jinora and Korra?" I asked. The Spirit held up a hand.

"Peace, Wanderer. They are fine, for now," he said. Next to him appeared a full body length mirror with an ornate wooden border around the glass. The glass shimmered like water in a pool that had just had a stone dropped into it. When the image settled, it showed Korra and Jinora standing in the Great Library, talking to a ten foot tall barn owl. I recognized the Spirit as Wan Shi Tong, the Keeper of Knowledge himself.

"As for your other question. You are in my Realm," the Observer continued as the image reverted back to the reflective surface of a mirror.

"This is the Void?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes. The Space between Spaces, the Great Divide between Worlds."

"Why am I here? You only collect the souls of Mark Bearers when they die," I said.

"If you want to get technical, death is defined as the soul leaving the body, therefore by definition you are dead," he said, his usually stoic face showing a small playful grin, "However I will not lower myself to such pettiness. Your presence here is a temporary one."

"Okay, then why?" I asked again.

"Things have been set into motion. Events are starting to unfold that have been a long time in the making. The very fabric of Creation is getting ready to shift. You've felt it, haven't you?" I didn't answer him, but I scratched at my Mark all the same, a move which he noticed.

"There is one out there who would seek to undo everything that has been accomplished within this past age, to return Creation to the chaotic primordial soup it once was," he continued.

"Yusei," I said with some realization.

"Yes. Another paradox such as yourself. One which has managed to exist far longer then you have," the Observer said.

"He's just one man. Ageless or not, that's still just one man against Spirits and the Avatar," I said.

"You, who has defied Kings and gods, should know better than that," he said with a level voice. I took a breath and held my tongue, waiting for him to continue.

"This man has spent much of this past age learning, gathering knowledge on things that have otherwise been lost to time. Now, he seeks the same thing you seek," the Observer said.

"The Tome," I said, my eyes growing large with realization. There was a very real chance I had just sent Korra and Jinora into the path of a powerful ten thousand year old immortal.

"The collection of knowledge belonging to the greatest alchemist and wise man to ever walk the mortal plain. Whomever has Xian's Tome has the potential to reshape the Realms as they see fit," the Observer said before holding aloft a rather large book. It was bound in plain black leather with no markings or letters anywhere to be seen. I looked between the Spirit and the book with surprise.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Long have I foreseen these events coming, and took action accordingly some time ago," he answered before handing me the book. I took it with a strange sense of reverence. It felt heavy and old, but not old enough that it would crumble to dust under my touch.

"You're the Observer. All you do is watch events play out, why would you do something like this?" I asked.

"It is my eternal duty to maintain the gap between the Realms. These men, Unalaq and Yusei, seek to cause great damage to that which I have maintained since the dawn of time. I cannot allow this to happen." I nodded in understanding at that. If everything truly was in danger like he suggested, even he had a stake in what was to come.

"I have other questions that I'd like answers to," I said.

"Ask them, quickly. Our time grows short."

"Last time you called Korra Raava," I started.

"Raava is the name of the Spirit that resides within her. The embodiment of Light and Order. What you mortals call the Avatar Spirit," he answered.

"Why does Unalaq and Yusei want to open portals to the Spirit World?"

"If the two great Portals are open when Harmonic Convergence comes, Vaatu will break free of his prison."

"Vaatu?"

"The Counter of Raava. Darkness to her Light, Chaos to her Order."

"And Harmonic Convergence?"

"The Great Shift we have all felt coming. The end of one era, and the dawn of another." I couldn't help but frown at the Spirit's description.

"That's…vague."

"You already have much of the information you seek, you just need to know how to read it," he said, inclining his head toward the book in my hands. My frown continued, but I didn't press the matter.

"One last piece of advice before we part ways, Wanderer. Use the entirety of the Hong during Harmonic Convergence, and you might find a pleasant and unexpected side effect," he said.

"Umm…okay?"

"Now, awaken!"

A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes sprang open. I was back in the actual statue room, surrounded by the others. Korra and Jinora's eyes sprang open as well. Tenzin and his siblings were next to us in an instant, making sure we were okay.

"Where were you? We looked everywhere," Korra said.

"Yeah, I felt you coming after us, and then you were just gone," Jinora added.

"I was…nowhere," I answered truthfully. Having seen the infinite nothing that awaited me in the realm of the Observer, it was sobering to say the least.

"We couldn't find the Tome," Korra reported, knowing by my posture and tone of voice that I didn't want to talk about where I had been.

"Someone beat us to it years ago. It could be anywhere now," Jinora added with a hint of sadness in her voice. I looked down and stared at the black book that was resting in my lap. Everyone else followed my line of sight and took notice of the book as well.

"Where did that come from?" Bumi asked, stumped by the book's sudden appearance. I slowly took a breath before opening the leather bound tome. A short breath of impatience left my nostrils.

"Does anyone here read Classical Air Nomad?" I asked. Both Tenzin and Jinora held up their hands. Well great, that solved one problem.

Now for the other billion or so that seemed to want to come our way.

 **And cut. That's all for this chapter. There wasn't much action, but there was a lot in the way of things being set up. Trust me when I say that this is only the beginning. So, let me know what you guys think. Drop a review, leave a PM, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	23. Secrets of the Temple

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. I've gotten some complaints as of late and I know a lot of you aren't overly happy with how long it the wait is between chapters. I'd love to get them out sooner believe me, but I do have other things to contend with outside of the site here. As always, I thank you all for your patience and support. Now, I have some more announcements at the end of the chapter, so let's get on with it:**

The Northern Air Temple was quite the sight to behold. Korra and I circled it a couple of times on Ashe, taking the time to view it in it's entirety before we landed. During the war, a group of refugees had set up residence in the Temple, adding in various bits of steam power in order to make their lives easier. After the war ended, the refugees had returned to their original home, and Aang had taken several years to renovate and restore the Temple to it's pre war glory.

Out of all the Temples, the Northern one had been host to the knowledge and wisdom that the Air Nomads had acquired over the years. Bending discoveries, advancements, new spiritual techniques, all of it recorded and stored here. It had almost been lost during the war when Sokka had blown the lower half of the mountain to bits in order to fend of a Fire Nation attack. However the residences had made sure to safe guard the library, and after the war the collection was shifted to Air Temple Island for a period of about fifty years before it was sent back here.

We had come here because this was also the last place that had Classical Air Nomad texts, and both Tenzin and Jinora wanted to be absolutely sure in their translations of the Tome. Pema and the three younger kids had been dropped off in Republic City, while Kya and Bumi had elected to stay with the rest of us.

Ashe touched down on a large walkway overlooking the edge of the Temple. The black dragon settled in and folded her wings around her. With the weather being warm and the breeze light, she seemed content to sit in place and sunbathe. Korra and I slid from her back, with me pausing to pat her lightly on the side of the snout, just behind a fang. Like a massive black cat, the dragon let out a rumbling purr.

"And how long have you two been arguing about this?" Korra asked. My eyebrows went to the middle of my forehead in thought.

"Thirty five, forty years, somewhere around in there," I answered.

"And she still believes it."

"If Kya is anything, it's stubborn. She'll probably argue with me about it until one of us is dead," I said.

"And then what? You'll finally realize how fruitless having an argument for that long was and probably regret it," she said.

"Doubt it. She'll have kicked the bucket, and I'll still be alive to say the truth and not have her counter act me."

"She'll be dead."

"Yes, and I'll have my victory. My cheep, petty, shallow, but still sweet victory," I said. Korra rolled her eyes.

"You're such a child sometimes."

"I'm not the one trying to rewrite history to a person who's actually lived history," I countered.

"Does it really matter what sexual orientation Kyoshi was?" Korra asked. I cocked my eyebrow at her.

"Did you forget who you're talking to?"

"Maybe you just didn't know Kyoshi as well as you thought you did," Korra suggested. I glared at her.

"I was married to her. I had a DAUGHTER with her. I'm the one who knew her best and I'm telling you Kyoshi was as straight as an arrow," I said.

"So where is Kya getting her information, then?" Korra asked.

"The City of Chin, mainly. After Kyoshi put an end to their little campaign, Chin's surviving Generals started a smear campaign in an effort to undermine Kyoshi's political authority," I explained. Korra paused and gave me a bewildered look.

"They made up a lie claiming the Avatar was Bi?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

"Back then, homosexuals were still highly frowned upon. One holding a political position of any kind was virtually unheard of, and those that were outed usually lost their job soon after. By the time they got organized enough to spread the rumor, Kyoshi already had an infant child underfoot, so they went with the next best thing and claimed she swung both ways."

"If it's so obviously false, why does Kya keep using it against you?" she asked.

"Cause it annoys him," Kya said, appearing with a playful grin on her face. I just glared at the waterbender, not amused in the slightest. She evidently didn't care, as she just continued to smile. We continued on into the Temple, where we found both Tenzin and Jinora hovering over the Tome. The father/daughter duo had several notes and other books surrounding the giant black book, and were both so engrossed in their work that they didn't notice our entrance.

"Making any progress?" I asked, causing the two of them to look up briefly.

"This is simply fascinating. Recipes for tonics, incantations, the knowledge this book contains is vast," Tenzin said.

"I could spend an eternity reading this thing," Jinora added.

"Careful, Little One. If what I've heard about this thing is true, there are unfortunate souls whom have suffered that exact fate," I warned. That seemed to sober the young girl some, but she went back to reading regardless.

"Have you found anything on the Hong?" Korra asked.

"I believe these diagrams here contain the information we seek," Tenzin said, turning to a bookmarked page which showed eight interlocking rings. Each ring was a different color; Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink, Purple, Orange, and Black.

"However the translation process has been somewhat difficult here. The author switched dialects when writing this part, I believe as a means of further safeguarding his secrets," Tenzin continued.

"So now what?" Korra asked.

"Now we hold our position and guard these two and that book until we get the information we need," I answered.

"You think someone will try to steal the Tome?" Kya asked.

"This book contains all the secrets of the greatest alchemist and shaman to ever live. For the first time in nearly a hundred years it's back in the physical world. People will do whatever they can to get their hands on it," I said.

"So guard duty," Korra deadpanned.

"Guard duty," I confirmed, "from now on these two are always watched by at least one of us or Bumi. When that thing isn't being worked on, it's locked up. Everyone clear?" It was evident that no one really liked this plan. But they all knew what was at risk, so they weren't going to argue about it.

"I'll take the first watch, I guess," Kya said, finding herself a book and plopping down in a chair in the corner.

"We'll go get settled in," Korra said before we headed out to find our living quarters.

"Do you really think someone will try to make a move against the book?" she asked when we were a good distance from the library and the others.

"I know of one," I answered.

"My uncle's advisor?"

"The very same. Now that you've refused to open the portals, they'll be looking for a new angle. If what he's said is true, he's already out there right now looking for the Tome," I said.

"So we're just going to sit here and hope he doesn't show up."

"Pretty much."

"And do what, exactly?" I gave her rear a quick swat and gave her a mischievous grin. She gave me one of her own as she realized what I was intending.

"Oh, I'm sure we can find something to do."

* * *

The week that followed is not something that I could say was boring. Both Tenzin and the Acolytes that maintained the Temple insisted that we have separate rooms. I had to remind Tenzin that Korra was a grown woman and could sleep wherever she wanted. If that meant in my room, who was I to stop her?

Korra's response was a lot less…subtle. When the head Abbot insisted that men and women were not allowed to share a bed, she took me into the room and had me take her so hard that she broke the headboard. That was also the one time she didn't attempt to muffle herself, so the entire dorm heard her moans. Needless to say, neither the Abbot nor Tenzin brought the subject up again after that.

Still, despite our nocturnal activities, we kept our eyes pealed for any and all possible threats. Just like in the days of old, no outsiders came to the Temple. Not that I was complaining. I was enjoying quality alone time with my young and rather active girlfriend. It wasn't until about a week and a half after we had arrived that something finally happened.

I woke up to the gray pre dawn light that was peeking it's way into our room. Korra was laying sprawled out next to me on her stomach, covered in blankets and lightly snoring into her pillow. With a small smile, I slipped out of bed and dressed for the day before leaving the room as quietly as I could. One thing I had learned during our travels together was that it was best to leave Korra to her own devices when it came to waking up. If you had to wake her, it was best to do with a stick from a distance.

It was still early, seeing as how none of the Acolytes seemed to be up and moving yet. I didn't really mind, I preferred being alone at this hour. As I was walking through the halls toward the library, I took notice of a figure moving ahead of me in the morning gloom. The person was wearing black with red highlights and metal armored points on the arms and legs, and their face was covered with a black cowl.

Any sleep that was still clogging my brain was instantly gone, replaced with the hyper focus of an adrenaline rush. I recognized that outfit, I knew what it meant. Drawing my sword hilt, I took off after the figure, determined to run them down and find out what was going on. Sure enough, the figure led back to the library.

There were three others besides the first. One of them had an unconscious Jinora slung over his shoulder, while a second had the Tome. Behind them, the library was wrecked, and Bumi was sprawled out on the floor with blood on his forehead. Once their comrade joined them, the group of four took off again, heading for the exit.

I paused and knelt next to Bumi, checking on my nephew. He was still breathing, and besides the gash on his forehead didn't seem to be hurt that much. They must have taken him by surprise and knocked him out before he could react. Satisfied that he wouldn't die if left unattended, I stood and extended the blade on my sword.

Stepping back out into the main hallway, I found myself facing Yusei at the far end. He was standing between me and the ones that took Jinora, and he had his own sword drawn.

"Kidnapping children now, are we?" I asked.

"I have waited ten thousand years to see my goals achieved. You will not disrupt that," he replied. I ran forward before blinking, covering the distance between us at a much faster speed. But he was ready for this, as he threw his spare hand outward. I was hit head on by an unseen force and sent sprawling backwards.

"What the…?" I gasped as I started to sit up, trying to get air back into my lungs. I suddenly felt myself bound by the same invisible force as was lifted off the floor to the point that not even my feet were touching it. Yuesi walked forward with his hand raised and his sword at his side. I noticed a faint amber colored glow surrounding his hand.

"Did you think you were the only one with gifts from the Spirits? Young fool, you still have so much to learn," he said. Turning, he swung his hand as if he were throwing an invisible ball. I was thrown through the air and straight through a window, out over a thousand foot drop straight to the foot of the mountain.

My mind raced as I fell, the wind rushing past my ears as I went. Feeling the invisible force vanish, I reached out my left hand toward the Temple. I blinked, and suddenly found myself hanging from a handhold on the cliff under the Temple. My arm screamed in pain as the sudden stop nearly ripped it from it's socket. Sucking in a pained breath, I collapsed my sword blade and returned the hilt to my belt before looking at my situation.

Realizing that I was effectively trapped on the side of the mountain now, I pressed my teeth into my lip and blew. A high pitched whistle echoed out over the valley below, and for several heartbeats I hung there in silence. Then a roar answered the whistle, and a black shadow passed over me. I let go of my hold and sprung off of the wall of stone, leaping out over the void like person swan diving into the sea.

I didn't fall far, as I suddenly found myself on the back of a mass of black leather and scales. If Ashe had any trouble suddenly catching my weight out of free fall, she didn't show it. Rather she let out a rumble, as if to chastise me on my stunt work before angling upward back toward the Temple. We landed on the wide walkway we had first landed on, only to be greeted by Tenzin, Korra, and Kya.

"Ryou, you're alive. Thank goodness. Where's Jinora?" Tenzin asked.

"They took her. I tried to stop them but…" I trailed off as I leaned forward over Ashe's neck, panting.

"Who's they?" Kya asked.

"Yusei. Unalaq's advisor. Him and four others," I answered.

"We have to stop them," Tenzin said.

"Tenzin, they're long gone," I said.

"They have my daughter, Ryou! We can't just sit here!"

"Tenzin, you don't understand. Yusei…he has some kind of ability I've never seen before. If you go charging after him now, Jinora won't have a father to come back to!" I snapped.

"So what do we do?" Korra asked. I leaned forward and rested my head against Ashe's neck.

"Bumi…?"

"It'll take more then a whack to the head to get through that thick skull of his," Kya said. I gave a small tired smile before I sat up fully and looked at my girlfriend.

"You still have that medallion we got in Iola?" I asked. She pulled said metal from around her neck and held it up, allowing it to shine in the morning light. Kya took the medallion and looked it over.

"Oh, a medallion of Laozi! I haven't seen one of these in years," she said.

"Where did you get that?" Tenzin asked.

"Not the time. Right now, we need find someone who can put that to good use," I answered.

"And who exactly would that be?"

"Priests and Priestess of Laozi are well known for their Clear Sight. One might be able to tell us where they're taking Jinora," Kya said with realization.

"We're entrusting my daughter and quite possibly the fate of the world to a soothsayer?" Tenzin asked with disbelief in his voice.

"You got a better idea that doesn't involve all of us getting killed?" I asked. Everyone remained silent at that.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

The nearby village we went to didn't have a name, or one that anyone remembered anyway. It wasn't on the map, and the fact that people were even living here at all was an astounding one. So imagine the locals' surprise when a black dragon suddenly touched down in the village square. Only Korra had accompanied me on this trip, seeing as how Tenzin and Kya had stayed behind at the Temple in order to wait on Bumi to recover.

The Abbot had remembered that a Priestess had lived in this village for many years. She had helped the Acolytes when they had begun renovations on the Temple, and if we were lucky she was still alive and hadn't run off. So once the locals realized that we weren't there to burn them all to ash, they happily pointed us in the right direction.

Unlike the last Priestess we had encountered, this one was middle aged, or at least appeared to be anyway. I only needed to look in a mirror to be reminded that someone was not always the age that they appeared. She was also much less friendly, at least until we showed her the medallion and told her who Korra was.

"My apologies, Avatar, I would be happy to help in any way I can," she said. Korra and I just shared a look before following her into her tiny hut. I say hut with an extreme stretch of the definition of the word, because the abode was little more then a pile of sticks semi arranged around the base of a tree on the very edge of the village.

In fact, it was so small that I was forced to wait outside and listen to what the two had to say though a window. Korra briefly explained the situation to her, telling her of Jinora and the men who had kidnapped her while at the same time neglecting to mention the Tome. When she was finished, the Priestess sat in silence for a long time before finally speaking.

"What is it you are not telling me, Avatar?" she asked.

"I've told you everything."

"Oh, don't be coy. It's all there in your story. Men, such as you have described, would not take this girl for no reason, even if she is one of the last airbenders," the woman said. I heard Korra let out a sigh of defeat.

"They're after some artifacts left behind by some guy named Xian. I don't know much more than that," she confessed. I heard some shuffling as the woman rearranged herself in the cramped confines of her living quarters.

"It cannot be coincidence then. Tell me, Avatar, have you heard the Prophecy of the Harbingers?" she asked. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"No, I haven't," Korra said.

"We came here for a point in the right direction, not a lesson in ancient end of the world nonsense," I said. I could practically feel the glare that was sent at me from the other side of the wall.

"What is the Prophecy?" Korra asked, ignoring my outburst.

"What your disrespectful companion failed to note is that it is not a prophecy about the end of the world, but rather the end of the current age. The Prophecy of the Harbingers was the last prophecy laid down by Laozi himself before he ascended. It foretells the events of the end of this age," she explained.

"And how does this help us?" Korra asked. I could tell she was getting impatient by her tone.

"The Prophecy speaks of great artifacts of power being brought together and fought over by four Harbingers, four Champions of the Great Ancient Spirits; Raava, Vaatu, Shijian and Kongxu. Whomever claims victory will decide the fate of the world in the next age," she answered.

"You think that this battle is soon to happen?"

"The coincidences cannot be ignored. Harmonic Convergence is approaching. In ancient times, this was when the four Spirits would clash in their great contests. Raava against Vaatu, and Shijian against Kongxu. The fact that these men move now, when the Convergence is so close, it cannot be anything else but the Prophecy."

"I've heard of Raava and Vaatu, but not these other two. Who are they?" Korra asked.

"Shijian, the Spirit of Time, and Kongxu, the Spirit of the Void, are said to have rose soon after the first two Great Spirits. They are a brother and sister pair, and their battle during the Convergence is said to be a game of Pai Sho. They don't take the outcome of their game as seriously as Raava and Vaatu, and thus they are not as well known."

"Why not?"

"It could be argued that their duties are far more important then that of their elders. Time and existence. Without these two, nothing could exist, and as such they maintain the balance," the woman explained.

"We're getting off topic. Got a girl to find," I reminded the two of them.

"There is a monastery high in the mountains near the United Republic border where a large mass of spiritual energy has been building. Go there, and you shall find what you seek," the woman said. Korra said her thanks, while I debated on if it would be bad taste to burn her hut to the ground for taking up so much time. Deciding that it would be in bad taste, we climbed onto Ashe and made the short flight back to the Temple.

Tenzin and Kya were waiting for us when we got back. Judging by the looks on their faces, they didn't have any good news.

"What is it?" I asked after Ashe touched down and we dismounted.

"A messenger hawk arrived shortly after you two left," Kya said.

"And?"

"They want a trade. Jinora, for the Orb," Tenzin said. Korra and I shared a look. The Orb was the only piece of the Hong we had, and the only one's location we knew about. If they got their hands on it and the Tome, there was no telling how bad things could get.

"The trade is suppose to take place at Scavenger's Outpost, in Frost Pass, two days from now," Tenzin continued.

"Frost Pass. Hm, that's just below the Monastery where I got my eyes fixed," I said, cupping my chin as I thought out loud.

"The Priestess told us they took Jinora to a Monastery near the Border," Korra explained, "you think it could be the same one you visited?"

"She did say the coincidences were getting hard to ignore," I said.

"So what's the plan then?"

"Get Jinora back, recapture or burn the Tome, kick your Uncle's ass all the way back to the North Pole," I answered.

"Ah, the old rescue the girl and save the world routine, eh?" Bumi asked as he appeared next to his siblings with a bandage wrapped around his head, "sounds like my kind of adventure."

 **And cut. Next chapter comes a big showdown. Now, I've been debating on what I want to do with Ageless. Overall, the story has been growing rather long and I've been on the fence if I wanted to either keep it all under one title as was my original plan, or split it into two halves. So, I decided to leave the choice up to you, dear reader. Should the story be split between two titles, or be kept under a single one? Be sure to cast your vote, and don't forget to tell me what you liked or didn't like about this chapter by dropping a review or leaving a PM. With that, I've spoken enough, and will see you all next time.**


	24. Convergence Part 1: The Pass

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. It's a little shorter, but it's got action in it. So with that, let's get this show on the road:**

In all my years, there are very few things that I have come to truly hate. Sure there are plenty of things I dislike, but if given enough time I can usually find something positive in it. It takes a very special and very rare kind of twisted to earn my true hated. Such as kidnapping children, or threatening Creation itself, those kinds of things earn my ilk.

By the time we touched down on the eastern edge of the Frost Pass, Yusei had earned himself a spot in this category. Taking the Tome was one thing, but taking Jinora was something else. Ageless or not, neither one of us was going to leave this pass until my sword had been planted firmly in his chest.

The Frost Pass was a narrow passage through the mountains, no more then a few miles wide. In the center of the valley flowed the Pale River, a fast moving stone bottom thing fed by melting snow and ice from the mountains. In the heart of the pass was the small village of Tzu, little more then a trading post along the border between the United Republic and the Earth Kingdom.

Tzu, being about halfway through the pass, was set to be the meeting point for the exchange. A quick scouting mission by Bumi told us that the village seemed to be totally deserted of inhabitants. At first, we were concerned that Yusei and his underlings had rounded up the locals. However Bumi assured us that the state of the buildings indicated that the town had been abandoned for some time.

It was decided that Korra and I would go alone into the village for the trade, while the three siblings would make their way up to the Monastery and locate the source of power the Priestess had spoken of. I wasn't about to sacrifice Jinora's life and put the whole world at risk by handing over the only piece of the Hong that we had.

A light snow was falling from the sky as Korra and I set foot in the village. She was wearing her dark blue parka, while I had my charcoal gray jacket. Bumi was right, this place looked like it had been abandoned years ago. All of the buildings had rotting walls and roofs, broken out windows, and a few were even missing their doors. Not a single track could be seen in the fine layer of power like snow on the ground. It was as if we were the first humans to set foot in this place in ages.

Regardless, my hand still rested on my sword hilt, as Korra's did on hers. Neither one of us was willing to take the risk of being caught off guard, not with an enemy as dangerous as this. As we walked, the only thing that could be heard was the crunch of our boots on the snow, and the creak of a door just barely hanging onto it's hinges.

My eyes scanned the buildings around us, watching for a possible hidden archer or bender that would strike us in the back. There were no such signs, but then again that was the point of a sniper.

"Twelve o'clock," Korra muttered out of the corner of her mouth. I looked ahead and spotted what she had seen. Yusei was standing in the middle of the street ahead of us, flanked on either side by two of the fighters who had attacked the Temple with him. On her knees at his feet was Jinora, who was gagged and had her arms bound behind her back.

We walked toward them with our hands ready to draw our weapons. But we refrained from actually doing so, as this would more then likely result in Jinora getting hurt, or worse. When we were about twenty yards away, Yusei raised his hand, signaling for us to stop.

"That's close enough," he said. We came to a halt, but remained tense, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

"Let Jinora go, she has no further part in this," I said.

"You know how this works, Ryou. Hand over the Orb," the white haired man replied. Without saying a word, Korra slipped the satual she had been wearing off and tossed it onto the frozen ground between us. Drawing his sword, Yusei cut Jinora's bindings before giving her a soft kick in the middle of her back. The airbending girl fell forward, but quickly crawled toward us before getting back to her feet.

I knelt in front of her, looking her over for any signs of harm. Other then some burns from the ropes and some marks on her cheeks from where she had bit down on her gag too hard, she seemed okay. As I looked her over, I kept my eye on the satual as it was picked up and taken to the white haired man.

"I'm sorry, Master Ryou. They separated me from the Tome," Jinora said in a defeated voice.

"Don't worry about that now. Did they hurt you?" I asked. She shook her head, but a frown started to form on her face as she noticed I didn't have my full attention on her.

"No, they didn't," she said.

"Good. Now get ready to run, Little One," I instructed. Across from us, Yusei opened the bag and pulled out it's contents. Instead of the jade green Orb he had been expecting, in his hand sat a large ball of ice. This was something I'd had Korra conjure up and then switch out before arriving here. A bellow of rage came from the white haired man as he smashed the ball of ice on the ground.

"KILL THEM!"

"Korra, take Jinora and run!" I ordered as I drew my sword hilt and extended the blade. My student and lover didn't need to be told twice as she grabbed Jinora by the hand and took off in a dead sprint back the way we'd come. I pursed my lips and let out a high pitched whistle. The sound echoed off of the mountains, which in turn was answered by a beast like roar.

From out of the clouds, Ashe's black form dove like a falling arrow. She pulled up at the last second, her maw wide as she unleashed a wave of fire upon the ground and buildings before her. Instantly, half of the village was on fire, including the two men that Yusei had with him. They were little more then shuffling pillars of flame now, living out their last moments in screaming agony before they collapsed.

Yusei himself had managed to escape the wave of fire unscathed, having dived out of the way the instant he saw the dragon emerge from the clouds. As he stood to his full height, he leveled his sword at me, challenging me without actually saying a word. I raised my own blade so that it was just in front of my face before lowering it off to the side, answering his challenge with a salute.

With that, I blinked, appearing off to his side and swinging my blade in a wide arc at him. Yusei anticipated this, turning and catching my blade with his before forcing me back with his brute strength. I slid backwards in the snow a few feet before I leapt forward again, slashing and hacking at him in an effort to find a weak point in his defense.

I didn't find a single one. The man's defense was one of if not the best I had ever faced in my long carrier. Every slash, every hack, every thrust, every parry, his blade was there to match mine. At this rate, I would tire myself out, and then he would be free to go on the offensive. Instead, I locked our blades together, making this a power struggle rather then a race to the end.

"What do you hope to accomplish by fighting me?" he asked before forcing me back. I stumbled, but regained my footing before slashing at him a few times and locking the blades together again.

"What do you?" I countered, "Chaos? Darkness? You'd undo everything mankind has accomplished in this past age."

"Accomplished? What has mankind accomplished? An endless cycle of war and terror? It never ends! What I seek will break the cycle, and bring man into a new era," he said.

"What you seek is insanity," I replied before head butting him. He reeled back from the strike, but recovered quickly as he parried my blade with his. My sword clashed into his again and again before I blinked, appearing to his side and driving my fist into his cheek. Yusei responded by backhanding me with his own fist, sending me flying and landing flat on my back in the snow.

Landing, I felt the air forced out of my lungs, leaving me gasping like a fish out of water. I struggled to sit up as pain coursed through my body. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him approaching, his sword held out to the side and a confident smile on his face. He was winning, and he knew it.

The earth suddenly shook as a massive black form touched down behind him. Yusei turned and faced Ashe with his blade raised, taking enough attention off of me to allow me to recover some. Ashe roared at him, but Yusei stood his ground defiantly. Growling, the black dragon lowered her head and unleased a torrent of fire from her jaws.

Without any time to escape, the white haired man raised his hand. The flames whipped around him, and for an instant it looked as if he had been consumed by the dragon fire. That is, until Ashe cut off the torrent of flames. Yusei hadn't escaped unscathed, his cloak was smoldering and a lot of his hair was covered with and singed. But he wasn't a pile of bone and ash at the moment, and that was worrisome to say the least.

Before he could bring any harm to the dragon, I was up and leaping forward, slicing him all the way across his back. I'd been going for a decapitation, but I overestimated the shot, and ended up causing this wound as he took a step forward. Yusei let out a billow of pain, his back arching from the sudden appearance of sharpened metal against flesh.

"I have had enough of you!" he roared. Ashe let out a shriek and was immediately in the sky again. As for me, I felt the same force I'd felt at the Temple come down on me. Instantly I was rendered immobile and dragged through the air so that I was floating just before him with his outstretched hand.

"You. You're like a small child playing with matches. You barely understand what can be accomplished with these abilities. And like the child with the matches, they must be taken away," he said. A searing, burning pain suddenly appeared in the back of my left hand, right where the Mark was. I watched as the mark slowly vanished from my hand.

"Now, you truly do have nothing." I couldn't speak as I just stared at my hand.

"That's…impossible," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"I have been practicing the arcane arts since before your ancestors walked this land. Things you would call impossible, I have done again and again for thousands of years. A new age dawns, Ryou, and I am it's herald. You've only seen a tiny fraction of my power, why do you continue to struggle? To resist? No one can fight destiny, you more then most should know that," he said. With that, he lowered his hand, and I felt myself released from whatever was binding me.

Yusei stepped a few paces away from me before turning to face me again. He held his arms out wide, as if to offer me a hug.

"I offer you this one last chance. Join me, and together we can make the world a better place," he said. I took a cautious step toward him, and then a second, the whole time eyeing him up and down to make sure he wasn't about to lunge. Suddenly, I moved forward, swinging my sword at his. My blade slammed down into his, taking him by surprise as it was forced downward.

Pivoting and reversing my grip, I spun about and stabbed him directly in the abdomen. The white haired man's eyes bugged out of his head and all of his breath was forced from his body. Shock was evident on his face. But that quickly melted into rage as he brought his own sword up and stabbed me in the right shoulder.

Pain that felt like fire raced throughout my shoulder and down my arm, causing me to scream. I switched hands with my sword as my right arm suddenly went limp. Stepping backwards a few paces, I pulled myself free of the sword blade. I quickly inspected the wound before looking a the man who had put it there.

"If I am to die, then we both go into the afterlife as brothers," he said. I was on the clock now, and we both knew it. Taking a breath, I moved to raise my good hand and take another swing at him. However Yusei raised his own hand, and before I could reach him I was launched backwards through a thin wooden wall, and that was all I remember before the building came down on top of me and I blacked out.

 _"Ryou…Ryou…" I opened my eyes and looked around for the soft voice calling out to me. All around me were clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see. Where was I? How did I get here? What happened to Yusei?_

 _"You still have a flare for the dramatic, my love." The clouds before me swirled before revealing a woman wearing a dark green kimono under a set of armor. However she lacked her ever present makeup and brass headband. She had a small smile on her face, and a set of fans folded up and clenched in her hands._

 _"Kyoshi," I breathed, not quite believing my eyes. My heart clenched in my chest. It had been so long since I had seen her that her image in my mind had begun to fade. To see her again was, refreshing to say the least._

 _"Am I dead?" I asked._

 _"Not yet. Although not for a lack of trying on your part," she answered._

 _"Then where am I?"_

 _"A place between life and death. Although I suspect our time here will be short."_

 _"So is this it then? I finally get to die? To enter a proper afterlife?" I asked. Kyoshi gave me an annoyed glare._

 _"Not if I have anything to say about it. You still have a lot of work to do, Ryou," she said. I couldn't help but give her a forlorn look. I'd spent so long dreaming about this moment. Without the Observer's Mark, I was free to pass on in peace. I could be reunited with friends, family, all those who had gone on without me._

 _"Have I not done enough? Kyoshi, please, I've lived for so long, and I am so tired. I miss you, I miss Koko, I miss everyone else. How much longer must I walk?" I asked with weariness in my voice. In a rare moment of emotion, I saw emotional pain on Kyoshi's face. She didn't want this, that much was clear._

 _"Only a little further, my love, and then you can seek out the rest you deserve ." I reached out my hand to her, as she did to me. Our fingertips just barely brushed against each other, but it was enough to reassure me that she was actually there._

 _"Besides, I've seen how you act around my current incarnation. Don't think I'm going to let you off easy with that one," she said. I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment, waiting for the verbal lashing that was sure to come._

 _"She's a good enough girl. Teach her a few of our old tricks, like the corkscrew, she'll love that." My face flushed with heat and I glared at my former wife._

 _"Seriously?"_

 _"Hey, you can't treat her like a delicate virgin forever," she said with a shrug, "now, do me a favor and wake up."_

"He's coming around, keep up the pressure there," came Kya's voice. She sounded faint and distant, and even had a slight echo. I slowly forced my eyes open, only to have them scream in protest at the glare of the light overhead. Korra's worried face appeared before me, blocking the light and giving my eyes some relief.

"Ryou, can you hear me?" she asked. Like Kya, her voice was faint and distant.

"What…?"

"Just relax and stay still," she instructed. I let out a groan as I rocked my head from side to side, trying to find out where we were. It was a bare room of some kind, having probably been a shop front or something at one point. I was sprawled out on a table top that was being used as a makeshift bed. I could feel the coolness of water on my body, as well as a couple of pairs of hands gently passing over it.

"I take it this isn't the spa," I muttered. Korra smiled, but it seemed more forced then anything else.

"You got hurt pretty bad. Kya and I are trying to patch you up," she said. Everything was starting to come into focus now. I blinked a few times and swallowed in an effort to return some moisture to my throat.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We got Jinora back, but we lost the Orb," Korra reported. I gave her a look that could have been either taken as annoyance or, well, annoyance really. There wasn't a happy middle ground in this case.

"The Monastery?"

"Deserted now. But from what we saw, Unalaq has the rest of the Hong," Korra said. My eyes snapped wide open at that and I vaulted upward. Water splashed to the floor, but a pair of hands appeared on my shoulders and held me down.

"You undo my work and I'll castrate you, you hear me?" Kya snapped.

"We gotta go after them," I said.

"And we will, but we have to get you patched up first."

"No, no, you don't understand, they have the Hong and the Tome…"

"And they can't read the damn book without Tenzin or Jinora, so quit struggling!" Kya snapped. I finally relented and did as she said, laying fully on my back.

"Ryou…this is bad," Korra said.

"Do we know where they went?" I asked as Kya reapplied a blob of water to my shoulder.

"North, back to the Northern Water Tribe," Korra answered. I closed my eyes and allowed the cooling sensation of the healing to relax me.

"Then that's where we're headed too."

 **And cut. Now the vote has come back, and in a very close victory the choice to split Ageless into two parts won. With that news, I am happy to report to you that we are down to the last chapter or two. Remember to drop a review, leave a PM, or ask a question or two. Let me know what you liked or didn't like about this chapter, and I'll see you all next time.**


	25. Convergence Part 2: Desperate Measures

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We are now in the finale of Ageless. So, let's get the show on the road:**

Korra was unhappy to say the least. She absolutely hated being left out of the action, and over the past year or so, she had grown use to being constantly at Ryou's side. Now she was dealing with both problems at the same time. Ryou had gone North with Ashe, intending to reclaim the Tome and any parts of the Hong he could find.

Given the fact that the mission required a level of stealth, a field in which Korra was not only lacking but had almost completely disregarded, it was understandable why she had been left behind. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little irritated about the situation. She had basically been left on guard duty back on Air Temple Island, keeping an eye and making sure that Unalaq's men didn't try to come for Tenzin or Jinora again.

Granted, her job was just as important as Ryou's was. Without one of the two airbenders, the Tome was unable to be read by anyone that Unalaq had under his command, and would therefore be next to useless without a translator.

So here she was, strolling around the Island library with her hand resting on her sword hilt while Jinora flipped through the pages of a book. Books had never really been much of an interest to Korra, unless they were training manuals of some sort. Despite that, she found herself looking over the girl's shoulder at the page she was currently looking at.

It was a painting, depicting a black dragon as it unleased fire from it's maw upon a group of fleeing warriors. Sitting atop the dragon's back was a figure in black armor with a shining katana held aloft over it's head, either raised in victory or in the middle of a strike. Behind the figure and dragon were other riders and dragons, unleashing what could only be described as hell upon their enemy.

"It's a historical epic I've been reading, it's called the Wrath of the Riders," Jinora said, providing an answer to the Avatar's unasked question.

"What's it about?" she asked, looking closer with a sense of curiosity.

"It's about the Battle of Red Sand Island, Chin the Lesser tried to invade the island and take it from the Fire Nation," Jinora answered. Not being a student of history, Korra just gave the girl an owlish look. Jinora let out a sigh.

"You've heard of Chin the Conquer, right?"

"Yeah, he was the warlord Kyoshi let fall off of a cliff," Korra answered, remembering this particular part.

"Chin the Lesser was his son. After Kyoshi died, he tried to use to absence of the Avatar in order to reestablish his father's empire. It seemed like he was going to be as unstoppable as his father was, until he invaded Red Sand Island and was attacked by the Riders," Jinora explained.

"And what's this?" Korra asked, pointing to an inscription at the bottom of the page.

 _Storm clouds, Fire and Steel._

 _Death from above, make the enemy kneel._

 _Gleaming armor and wings._

 _Death from above, it's an army of kings._

"A poem, a hymn. No one knows who wrote it," the girl answered. Korra's eyes drifted from the inscription back up to the black rider. The armored figure reminded her of Ryou, from his position on the dragon's back to the way he held his sword. With that realization, Korra went back to being aggravated with him.

"I bet he's having more fun then I am," she muttered under her breath.

* * *

There's something odd about humanity that I've noticed over the years. Every generation has it's own doomsday scare, some event or thing that happens and everyone seems to think that the world as we know it will come to an end. Very rarely are these threats actually worthy of the hype they receive. Mainly it stems from mankind's obsession with it's own mortality, that question that every generation asks; 'are we the last ones?'.

Then, there are situations like this, where literally everything that mankind has accomplished over the past ten thousand years is at risk. They're very, very rare, but they do happen. When they do happen, everything needs to be thrown at it, no holds barred.

Which was what I was doing now.

There weren't any alarms being sounded as I descended upon the Northern City on Ashe's back in the middle of the night. Either Unalaq didn't know I was coming, or I was being led into a trap. My main reason for being here was to recover the Tome, so stealth was probably the way to go. Honestly speaking I didn't care which situation I wound up in, just so long as I could stab someone and let my frustration out.

Ashe touched down on the roof of the Palace with the grace of a small bird, barely making a noise despite her large frame. I silently slipped from her neck, down the side of the building, and in through a window. The presence of the Royal Guard was surprisingly light. I learned from listening in on the few remaining men that the vast majority of them had been shipped to the actual North Pole itself for whatever project he was working on.

As I sat there, hanging from a pillar waiting for a guard to pass, I decided that whatever Unalaq had planned was going to have to be done without the Tome. The book itself was located in the Chief's office, under the watchful eye of a pair of twins.

Desna and Eska, the son and daughter of the Northern Chief. They were identical to each other in almost every why, both in physical appearance and mannerisms. Hunched over, dark Water Tribe clothing, black hair which hung down to their shoulder blades. Except for some eye liner that Eska wore, it was like they were a pair of clones that were indistinguishable from each other.

"Do you think that Father's plan relies a little too much on this dusty old thing?" Eska asked.

"You question our Father's mission?" her brother asked without looking away from the Time.

"Of course not. It just seems rather foolish to have everything hinge on this one thing," she said.

"Hm. I see your point, sister. However, if what the Ancient One said is correct, then this book holds more secrets then we could imagine," Desna said.

"I don't trust that man. He seems too full of himself," Eska said.

"At least he is not the man cousin Korra has become infatuated with. He shows no respect for any custom or culture," Desna replied. I rolled my eyes. I'd never even properly met these two, and Unalaq's hatred of me had already spread to them. Granted their natural default was to hate everyone they met upon first meeting, but that's neither here nor there.

"I've heard that he's an immortal as well. Perhaps when Father's plan is fully realized, we can extract the secret from him," Eska suggested.

"Or you could just ask him directly," I suggested before dropping from my hiding place. Both of the twins' eyes went wide with shock before they went for their hidden water skins. I already had my blade extended and pointed at them before they could react further, causing them to freeze as I clicked my tounge at them.

"Drop 'em, now," I ordered. Two water skins hit the floor at the same time. With a smirk, I walked forward and collected the Tome with my free hand, closing it and sliding it into my satchel.

"You'll never get out of here in one piece," Eska said.

"That remains to be seen, Princess," I replied as I backed toward the office door. After a moment, I turned and went through the door, determined to slip into the night and get back to Ashe without encountering anything. I got as far as the first corner in the hallway, turning straight into a pair of guards.

"Hey!" I lunged forward, punching one guard in the nose before clubbing the other with the pommel of my sword. The first guard stagged backward, stunned from the blow, while his comrade hit the floor instantly. Before the first guard could recover, I swept forward, turning him around and grabbing him by his jaw. I pulled it hard to the side, snapping his neck with one fluid motion.

I was running again before the body hit the floor. A whip of water snapped near my head, causing me to skid to a halt and assume a ready stance. Both of the twins stood at the far end of the hallway with tendrils of water poised like snakes ready to strike.

"Give. It. Back," Desna said.

"Come get it," I replied. He snapped his whip toward me, turning it into a razor sharp blade of ice at the last second. I brought my blade up in a blocking motion, shattering the ice with a single blow. Without waiting for a counter, I turned and began to run. Another guard appeared before me, his hand flying toward his waist where his water skin was.

I grabbed his arm as I turned him and rolled across his back. The momentum pulled his arm with me, yanking his body upright as his arm was dragged down and behind him. Three sickening thwacks filled the air behind me, causing me to glance back. Eska had fired three spikes of ice at me, all of which had imbedded themselves in the guard's chest, turning him into a human shield. I released my grip on the man's arm, allowing him to fall to the floor.

Taking off at a sprint again, I made it to the next corner, only to skid to a halt when I saw who was waiting for me at the far end of the hallway. The same build, same white hair, same highly decorated Jian sword which was drawn yet resting at his side. Yursi didn't look any different then the last time I had seen him, except for the white bandages that bound his upper torso.

"Desna. Eska. Stand down. I will deal with him myself," the immortal commanded. Despite clearly wanting to do the opposite, both of the twins obeyed and lowered their water whips.

"Didn't get enough in the pass?" I asked.

"I could ask the same thing of you," he replied. I raised my sword, and he raised his. The two blades tapped each other, the sound of metal scrapping against metal filled the hall. At the same time we moved, the two blades smashing into each other through a series of arcs and twists. We pivoted back and forth on our feet, neither one of us gaining the upper hand in our deadly dance.

Our stances were the more graceful dueling style of fencing, rather then the heavy blows of battlefield combat. We moved like wealthy noblemen fighting over honor rather then the forged in fire warriors we actually were. Quick glances and parries, not heavy blows.

"Hm, the style of the dragon. I haven't seen since before the war," he mused.

"Oh, you know this style?" I asked, unsurprised. Given his age and experience, I could only imagine what he knew in terms of fighting.

"Very well. Many members of the Riders used it when Sozin's Purge commenced. Needless to say, I am well versed in how to defeat it," he answered before raising his blade.

"You were there when Agni fell?" I asked, this time with genuine surprise.

"I was. They called me the Sword of Sozin," he answered. I felt my eyes grow to the size of saucers. The Sword of Sozin was an armored specialist that had been sent in by the Fire Nation military when they had purged the Dragon Riders. Many men and dragons alike had died by his hand that day.

"You saw the Fall, didn't you. Tell me, how did you survive when all your brothers and sisters of the sky did not?" he continued. Rage coursed through me, and with a yell I clashed our blades together. Yuesi was forced backward from the force of the attack. He hadn't expected me to suddenly switch fighting styles, but he adjusted quickly regardless and was able to fend me off.

"Oh struck a nerve, did I" he taunted. My response was to break his nose with my fist. He reeled back with a cry, blood flying as he went. Seeing my chance, I disengaged and broke into a run. I didn't have time to fight him, I had a mission to complete. He'd get his when the time came. Behind me I heard his muffled yells as he ordered the twins to go after me.

Sliding around a corner, I bit my teeth into my bottom lip and let out a whistle. Ahead of me, the hallway ended in a large window. I sprinted straight at it, having no intention of changing direction or speed. The hair on my neck stood on end, and I dropped to my knees and slid across the floor. Several shards of ice flew over my head and shattered the window. I could hear the snarl of frustration from the twins as they had missed their target.

Without slowing down in the slightest, I plowed through what remained of the window, straight out over a several story drop. I didn't have to fall for long as Ashe suddenly appeared beneath me. In an instant I wasn't falling, but rather flying. We arched up into the night, circling back past the palace window as we turned south. The twins and Yusei were watching from the window. There was a look of rage plastered on the white haired man's face.

Rather than gloat, which was highly tempting by the way, I hunkered low and encouraged Ashe to fly faster. The more distance we put between ourselves and them, the better. We didn't get far, as a blast of faint amber colored light hit Ashe. She let out a bellow of pain before nose diving toward the ice plains below. I let out a scream, clinging to the dragon's back.

We plowed into the snow, and I was thrown like a rag doll over her head. I landed on my face, and everything went dark.

When I came to, I realized that I had been tied to a tree in the middle of a snowbound forest. Both of the twins were on either side of me, each holding an ice spike to my throat should I make an attempt to escape. Pacing back and forth before me was Unalaq, his arms clasped behind his back as he went. Beyond him was Yuesi, with his arms raised out before him as he chanted in some language.

"Where is my dragon?" I asked.

"Secure," was the only answer I got. I felt a snarl of anger work its way up my throat.

"You had better kill me if you have any intention of making out of this alive," I growled.

"Arrogant, as usual," Unalaq replied before halting and looking at me. I ignored him and focused on the white haired man. With a start, I realized that he reading from the Tome. I shouldn't I have been surprised that he was able to read it. He'd been so confident in getting his hands on the damn thing I'd mistaken it for foolhardy arrogance. It was arrogance alright, just the kind that he knew he could back up.

"You should count yourself lucky, Ryou. You will witness the dawn of a new age," Unalaq said.

"How many will have to die when your new age comes, Unalaq? The last era was a time of fear for mankind. You'd both see that returned without a second thought," I said.

"I will see humans and spirits reunited. This new era will be one of peace!"

"You're a fool. Humans are violent by nature. All it takes is one incident against the spirits, and then it'll be wholesale slaughter on mankind. That's what your new age offers, Unalaq, darkness and death!" I spat. At that moment, a pillar of light erupted from the ground at Yusei's feet and shot skyward. Everyone else watched in awe, while I struggled against my restraints in an effort to get free.

"The portal is open. We must hurry if we are to open the other one before the Convergence begins," the white haired man said.

"You're right. The Hong, quickly," Unalaq said, turning to his children. Desna tossed him a large canvas bag, which he caught with ease. I struggled harder, knowing that things really where on a razors edge now.

"Make sure he does not escape," the northern chief ordered, pointing at me before both he and his companion passed into the pillar of light. For a few heartbeats, there was only silence.

"You do realize you just handed over the end of the world as we know it, right?" I asked. In a flash, Desna was in my face, an ice dagger held to my jugular.

"Our father is a great man. He will lead us into a new age of peace," he hissed.

"Yeah, an age that's possible because everyone is dead," I replied without a hint of fear anywhere. Desna pursed his lips before turning away in a huff of anger. I simply shook my head and went back to trying to get free. Soon after, I realized that something was off about the way things were around me.

It took me a little bit of studying, but I realized what was wrong. Time had frozen. Literally everything had ground to a halt, froze in place, yet I was still able to move freely. I frowned, knowing full well whom was responsible for something like this. He came walking amongst the trees in his monk attire with his hands held in a reverence position in front of him and his head bowed.

"You seem like you need some assistance," The Observer said.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"To ensure that all the pieces are in place when the great game begins," he answered as he walked over and placed a hand on my restraints. In an instant they were gone, turned to ash. I gave him a look of confusion.

"I don't understand, I no longer have your Mark," I said.

"You are more than just a Mark Bearer, Wanderer. You are my Harbinger," he explained.

"Are you telling me that stupid prophecy is true?" I asked.

"In a way. You'll find out for yourself soon enough. Now, I have a game to play with my sister," he answered, flipping a Pai Sho tile into the air like a coin before vanishing. Time returned to normal, and I moved before the twins could react. Before either of them knew what was happening, they were on the ground, unable to move due to their chi being blocked.

I gagged and hog tied them before heading toward portal. It was time to end this once and for all.

 **And cut. As I said at the beginning, the next chapter will be the last of Ageless. As always, I want to hear from you guys. Drop a review, leave a PM, send a telegram, do something to let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


	26. Convergence Part 3: A New Era

**Hey guys, I'm here with the final chapter of this installment of Ageless. I have some production notes at the end if you're interested in some of the things that inspired this story. Again, I cannot thank you enough for your support. And now, on with the finale:**

You know, with bending being so commonplace, it's easy to forget that some forms of magic do exist out there. Most of the time it's really subtle, a fortune teller who never seems to get a prediction wrong, things like that. Its usually harmless stuff, no more than a form of prayer to a particular Spirit in most cases.

But what Yusei practiced, what the Tome and the Hong were meant for? That was very dangerous territory. The things that could wrong were astronomical to say the least. Which was why I had to get that book away from him as quickly as I could.

The other side of the portal was a barren wasteland, at the center of which stood a large bare tree. Yusei was on the far side of the tree, chanting before another portal. Unalaq was standing before the tree itself, looking up at it as if he was having a conversation with it. I moved toward the Northern Chief, using the terrain to conceal myself from him as I closed the distance.

My plan was a simple one: get my sword, get the Tome, and get the hell out of here. With my three step plan secure in my head, I darted forward. Unalaq was taken by complete surprise when I descended upon him. I delivered several jabs to his midsection, chi blocking him before snatching my sword hilt from his belt as he fell to the ground.

The Chief wasn't fully in the dirt before I was moving again, sprinting toward Yusei. Being embroiled in his chanting, he never saw me coming. The pillar of light erupted from the ground, opening the other portal.

I extended my blade before swinging at the white haired man's head. Instinct kicked in, and he leaned back to try and dodge the swipe. He wasn't fast enough as the tip of the sword sliced up his right cheek, from the corner of his nose, through his eye, to his right temple.

Yursi screamed in pain as he reeled back, blood flying from his face. His hands threw the Tome into the air as he fell, allowing me to snatch the rather thick book for myself. Spinning on the balls of my feet, I sprinted back in the direction I had come, tucking the Tome under my arm as I ran.

"You are only delaying the inevitable," a deep voice boomed from the tree as I passed. I didn't even so much as bother to shoot a glance toward the source of the voice.

 _Two Days Later._

I slammed the Tome down on Tenzin's desk, startling the airbending master.

"Don't lose it again," I warned, jabbing a finger at him before turning and heading out of his office without waiting for a response. I hadn't slept in the past couple of days, choosing instead to find Ashe, and then heading straight back to Republic City. Even after getting back here, I had very little time to sleep. I needed to get as many allies as I could together and then head back north to put a stop to Unalaq once and for all.

As I headed toward the dormitory to get some rest, I found myself enveloped from behind by a set of arms, and then lifted off the ground by said arms.

"Korra, can't breathe," I gasped out before she let me go. Turning, I embraced her in a proper hug, more than happy to see her after what had happened.

"Did you get it?" she asked when we pulled apart.

"I got the book back," I answered.

"So what happens now?"

"Now, we go back North, and we put an end to this," I said.

"We're going to need a great deal of help," she noted.

"All that we can get," I agreed. There was a moment of silence between us.

"We're going in on our own, blind and cocksure, aren't we," she said.

"Probably."

* * *

We didn't make the trip North alone like we had planned. Bumi absolutely insisted on coming when he heard what we were up to. Tenzin convinced Kya to go along as well, if anything to keep an eye on their rather brash brother. He also lent them a sky bison, so that they could keep up with us on Ashe.

To my surprise, there were no guards posted around the Spirit Portal when we arrived. It was like they wanted us to come here. Considering who we were fighting, they probably did. Oh well, springing traps is an old favorite pass time of mine.

"So that's the Spirit World on the other side of that thing, right?" Bumi asked.

"Yep."

"And our plan is…?" he asked, trailing off while waiting for an answer.

"The plan is to go in there and stop a mad Chief and ten thousand year old immortal from fucking shit up on an epic level," I said as I drew my sword hilt.

"Oh. Great. And here I thought it was going to be something difficult." With that, the four of us stepped through the portal and into the Spirit World. Nothing had changed since I had last been here, well, not entirely anyway. There was one, rather sickening addition to the otherwise barren plain between us and the Tree at the center.

"Ah, there you are Raava. What do you think of the new decoration?" the deep voice from the tree asked. Korra turned green as we drew closer and she realized who it was she was looking at.

It was Unalaq. He had been tired to a single vertical pole nailed together with two horizontal poles, one for his arms and the other for his legs. His head was hung, and there were several red marks all over his clothing. As if being put up there wasn't enough, he had been stabbed several times as well. A single sign with the word 'failure' scrawled out on it was hanging from his neck across his chest.

"By the Spirits…" Kya whispered in horror at the sight. I looked up at the Chief with a hard frown. I hadn't seen things like this since the days of Chin the Conqueror. The warlord had done this to leader of providences that had chosen to fight back against his conquest, sticking them up along the roadside as a warning to others who would attempt to do the same. I couldn't help but wonder if it was him that Yusei had gotten the idea from, or vise versa.

"Kya, Bumi, spread out and find the twins. Let's hope our host didn't make an example out of them either," I said. The two siblings headed off in opposite directions without a single word.

"You must be Vaatu," I called, choosing to look past the body before me and focus on the tree. As I walked closer, I got a much better look at the thing inside. It was massive, roughly the shape of a large, fancy kite, with orange and black markings.

"I am, Harbinger. Have you come to stave off the inevitable as so many of your kind try and fail to do?" he asked.

"You're not going to bring down darkness upon the Earth," I declared. The Dark Spirit chuckled.

"Foolish mortal. You stand a better chance at staving off your inevitable death than you do of stopping what is to come," he said. I froze on the spot as I felt a presence other than my own enter my head. Korra could feel it as well, I could tell by the look on her face.

 _'In that case, I'd say his odds are fairly good, Vaatu,'_ a powerful female voice echoed. If the dark presence in the tree had eyes, I'm sure it'd be glaring directly at Korra.

"You've finally made your presence known, if only to stand up for this pathetic creature. Of what concern is he to you, Raava? He will wither and die, just like all the rest of his kind."

 _'You're wrong. Ryou has survived untouched by time far longer than any other mortal I've seen. If you should fear any mortal, it's him.'_ Vaatu seemed to stare Korra down for a long time. Again, I'm not sure how this was possible without eyes, or a face really, but somehow he did it.

"You've changed. It use to be you cared little for mortals."

 _'Ten thousand years is a long time. And Ryou has more than proven his worth over the years.'_

There was something about the way she said it, the tone in her voice. It was like there was affection, especially in the last part when she said that I had proven my worth. Vaatu apparently noticed it as well, as he shifted his form so it was like he was looking back and forth between the two of us.

After a moment, the Spirit of Darkness began to laugh. It started as a small chuckle, but quickly blossomed into a full on cackle. Korra and I shared a glance at each other, not quite sure what to make of what had essentially become a back and forth between two ancient Spirits.

"I don't believe it. You have taken on a lover, a mortal lover. My, my how time has made you soft. It's time someone with strength took over and reminded the two Realms what true strength looks like," Vaatu said.

"Korra, the portals," I said, speaking up and reminding her of our reason for being here. She nodded once before running toward the portal that Yusei had opened last time I was here.

"Stop her!" Vaatu ordered. From the branches of the Tree came a white haired streak. I leapt forward, extending my blade and meeting his downward strike with an uppercut. The two blades rang as they collided with each other.

"Go!" I said over my shoulder, compelling Korra to run. I turned and looked Yusei in the one eye he had left.

"Don't you see what you're fighting against?" he grunted as we struggled against each other, "the Avatar has never achieved balance because balance cannot be achieved when there is only one Avatar doing it. The Avatar is the world's ultimate hypocrite!"

"And what, you're going to form that balance with him?!" I asked, jerking my head toward Vaatu.

"It's the only way."

"He's the embodiment of chaos! Balance is a completely alien concept to him, you don't want balance, you want power!" Yusei delivered a punch to my stomach, causing me to bend over and allowing him to disengage. I recovered just in time to block his next swing, and we went back and forth, parrying and thrusting our blades in a deadly dance.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Korra reach the portal. With that, I pressed my attack, making my blows more heavy as I drove him backwards. All I had to do was keep his focus on me for just a little longer.

"It's too late. You can feel it coming, can't you," the deep voice of Vaatu said.

The two pillars of light bent and crashed into each other. Lightning arched all over the place before they finally fused, forming a golden archway high overhead. Korra was thrown backward from the pillar by the surge of energy, landing flat on her back in the dirt. The barrier in the tree exploded, releasing the Dark Spirit. Vaatu twisted his form through the air, relishing in the fact that he was free from his prison. Oh great, now we had this to deal with.

Yusei stood with his arms wide open, as if he was waiting to receive a hug. The Dark Spirit dove toward him and entered through his chest. He doubled over at first, but then stood up straight, his form glowing orange. This lasted for about thirty seconds, before the pommel of my sword slammed into the side of his face. The white haired man was sent sprawling on the ground, and the kite like being was forced from him.

 _'If they make contact with the portal energy, they'll be fused together like Wan and I was. Do not let this happen!'_

Korra was on her feet and the first to react. Her eyes glowed white as she rocketed back toward us with firebending, jumping between Yusei and Vaatu while slinging fire blasts at the latter. I watched as she drew her sword with her right hand and held off Yusei's blade attacks with that, while keeping Vaatu at bay with her firebending. She was the most furious sight to behold, and I couldn't help but watch in pride.

Coming in from his blind side, I swung my blade at the white haired man. He narrowly dodged my blade before turning fully to face and fight me. With the threat at her back covered, Korra returned her full attention to battling Vaatu.

Yusei and I clashed our steel together again and again, shifting constantly between brute strength, quickness of feet, and trying to out do each other with blade work. He was the most challenging foe I had ever faced, but there was no way I was even thinking of backing down, not with what was at stake here.

Across from me, what sounded like a fog horn echoed through the area. I looked just in time to see a purple beam of light erupt from Vaatu's frame and annilate everything in front of him. Korra was forced out of the Avatar State as she struggled to avoid this deadly weapon.

Using my distraction against me, Yusei slammed his shoulder into me, sending me onto my backside. My sword slid out of my grip and well out of my reach. He was standing over me before I could go after it, his blade pointed directly at my heart. As he raised it to deliver the final blow, a pillar of air suddenly erupted below him. He was spun around and around before finally being launched through one of the portals.

Korra appeared above me. She looked a little worse for wear, and a little winded, but other than that she seemed fine. Reaching a hand down, she pulled me back to my feet.

"We need to get Vaatu back into the tree," she said.

"That will only put the problem off to whomever the Avatar is ten thousand years from now. We need a way to keep him imprisoned more effectively than that," I said.

"What do you suggest?" Korra asked, raising her own sword into a ready stance as Yusei reemerged from the portal he had gone though. An idea blossomed in my head, a crazy, insane idea, but one that just might work.

"I'm going to bond with Vaatu," I said.

"Do what now?"

"If I bond with him I can control him, keep him imprisoned within myself," I said.

"That is the most insane thing I've heard today."

"Ten thousand years and Raava has never once broken free of any of your past lives," I pointed out.

"True, but…"

"Good, we agree, one, two, three, break!" I said before charging toward Yusei without waiting for a response. Again, the white haired man was standing with his arms out, offering himself to Vaatu. As the Dark Spirit dove toward him again, I jumped in front of Yusei, holding my own arms out as I took the full force of the Spirit slamming into me.

It was like my entire core had been stabbed with a massive ice spike, cold and increably painful. My whole existence felt like it was threatening to rip apart. But I slammed down hard in my minds' eye, grabbing onto the new force with my willpower and refusing to let go. Behind me, Yusei raised his hands, prepared to use his own power against me.

The ground beneath the white haired man's feet suddenly liquefied, and before he could react he had suddenly sunk up to his neck. Korra wasted no time, bending the earth to pick him up and then slam him down again. After doing this a couple of times, she turned him and launched him back through the portal, ejecting him from the Spirit World a second time.

I struggled to maintain my senses as I battled the feeling of something foreign and strange that enveloped my entire being. Korra was talking to me, holding her hands out toward me. I focused on her voice and face, using it as an anchor to keep myself in place. It took a huge amount of effort, but I struggled forward, fighting both to stay in control and keep the Spirit of Darkness from escaping.

"You think you can hold me, mortal? I'm the one that broke the boundaries between worlds to begin with, what makes you think you can win?" Vaatu taunted in my mind. Despite that, the Spirit began to put up more of a fight as I got closer to the portal.

"Try and stop me, you glorified kite," I muttered as I plunged my hand into the golden pillar of light. Vaatu's scream filled my head as my vision went white. In an instant it was all over. The presence of Vaatu was gone, having been banished to the far reaches of my mind. I fell to my knees in exhaustion, relief flooding my entire being.

Korra appeared above me, a small smile on her face as she regarded me. It had worked. Our crazy, insane plan had worked. I returned her smile as I started to get back to my feet. Only for my eyes to go wide with shock as the tip of a blade erupted from her stomach. Korra's eyes went wide, and her mouth opened as if to scream, yet only a single gasp escaped her lips.

Yusei appeared behind her, a cold, calculated gaze fixed upon me. Without a single word, he withdrew his sword and slashed it across her back. Korra finally cried out as blood sprayed behind her and she fell forward.

"NO!" I screamed as I moved forward to try and catch her. Yusei reversed his swing, and pain suddenly blinded me. I cried out as I fell backwards, clutching my hand. The middle, ring, and pinky fingers from my right hand landed in the dirt between Korra and myself. Before I could move, the white haired man appeared above me, planting his boot squarely in the middle of my chest to keep me in place.

"I'm going to spare your life," he said, pointing the bloody tip of his sword directly between my eyes, "I'm going to let you live so that you can watch, and you can SUFFER for what you have done here today. Enjoy your victory, Ryou. Let us hope it was worth the price." With that, he was gone. I struggled to get up, my left hand clutching my right in pain.

Korra was clawing at the dirt, trying to pull herself forward. Where exactly she was going, I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to get to her. I stumbled and collapsed to my knees next to her, just barely managing to keep from falling on top of her. The gash in her back was bad, and she was losing a lot of blood.

"Oh gods," I moaned as I began to realize the extent of the damage.

"R..Ryou," she mumbled, her hand grasping at air. I took it and firmly held on.

"I'm here, I got you."

"N..not like t..this," she choked out. Tears, both from the pain and from fear of losing her clouded my vision.

"You're right, not like this. You hear me, Raava, it's not her time!" I said loudly as I pressed my hands to her wounds to try and stop the bleeding. There was so much blood that I quickly lost track of which was mine and which was hers. Despite my panicked efforts, I knew this was a losing battle. Both Korra and I were on the verge of consciousness, fighting to stay awake, and stay alive.

"HELP!" I yelled out with the last of my energy, hoping that someone, anyone, was listening. The last thing I saw as darkness took me was a figure in blue running toward us.

* * *

I struggled to pull the shirt on. This was what the two weeks since the end of Harmonic Convergence had been like. My body was weak after everything that had happened. Getting dressed was a chore. Walking required the assistance of a staff. I was healing, but the process was maddingly slow.

There was also the presence of Vaatu. He hadn't spoken a word since I had sealed the bond and imprisoned him inside of me. But he was still there. I could feel him, lurking just beyond the edges of my mind. A wounded and angry creature that had retreated to a cave to lick it's wounds. He was a problem I was going to have to deal with sooner rather then later.

Despite how bad I had it, Korra had it much worse. Her wounds had left her broken, both physically and mentally. It was thanks to the timely intervention of Kya, and the hard work of Katara that she was still alive. Alive, but bound to a wheelchair. At least, for the time being anyway. Katara believed that continues healing sessions would eventually restore her ability to walk.

With my shirt on, I grabbed up my staff and hobbled out of my small dormitory. Air Temple Island had a solum feel to it, like it was in a state of mourning. Given all that had recently happened, it kind of was. Out of Aang's three kids, only Kya and Tenzin remained, with Bumi out doing what he did best; going on a wild adventure.

When we had been brought back from the North, I'd ordered Bumi to take the Hong destroy it. If that should fail, scatter the orbs to the far corners of the world and make sure they wouldn't be found again. After enlisting Asami's help and gaining the full backing of Future Industries resources, Bumi had spent these past two weeks doing exactly that.

I made my way down to the docks, where a rather large steamer rested. On the dock, waiting to depart was Korra and her family. She had decided that she wanted to make her recovery back home in the Southern Water Tribe. There, she wouldn't be far from Katara for healing sessions, and she'd be much safer from any attack that might come her way than she would be in Republic City. Her parents were more than happy to welcome her home. Me, I had grown so use to having her by my side that I didn't want to see her go.

It was, heart wrenching to see her in this state. She sat in the wheelchair, a look of sad resignation on her face. Her gaze looked out toward the city skyline, and the mountains beyond that. She looked like a prisoner looking out from a cell.

"There's still a chance for me to come with you," I offered as I placed a hand on her shoulder. She reached her hand up and took mine.

"No. I need to do this myself," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said firmly. I nodded once. If she didn't want me to come, I would respect her wishes.

"I have a task for you while I'm away," she said. I raised my eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh?"

"I want you to find the white haired bastard that did this to us, and I want you to make him bleed," she said with venom in her voice and fire in her eyes. She was right. Yusei had to be found. He was still out there, licking his wounds, but no doubt preparing to put his next plan into motion.

"I will," I promised. I didn't know how I was going to keep this promise. I could barely walk, I couldn't hold a sword in my sword hand. But somehow I knew I was going to keep this promise, even if it cost me my final breath. Reaching up with my unbandaged hand, I brushed some strands of hair out of her face.

"I love you."

"I love you to, Ryou," she replied, and for a brief moment, her eyes held the spark they once had. I held my hand on her cheek for a little longer. It was time for me to walk alone again, at least for the moment, anyway.

I watched as Korra and the others boarded the ship, and then as the ship disappeared over the horizon. Taking a breath, I turned and hobbled my way back toward the Temple. There was still one last task for me to complete before I set out on my hunt for Yusei. I had to make absolutely sure that Vaatu couldn't escape me. There was only one way I could think of to make sure that didn't happen. It was dangerous, and it possibly meant sacrificing everything. But for Korra, and everything else I had grown to love, it was something I was willing to do.

As expected, I found Jinora in the library, silently reading a historical drama. I sat the Tome on the table before her, the noise of which gaining her attention.

"Master Ryou, what are you doing here?"

"We have a lot of work to do, Little One."

 **And cut. That concludes the first installment of Ageless. Now I had said that I was going to cover Ryou's story through the end of Legend of Korra, and I still intend to. Just with more changes to the plot line. I'll be sure to post an update when the next installment is released.**

 **Now, as a fun treat, here are some production notes about this story:**

 **The version of Ryou's name that was chosen means 'distant' in Japanese, a reference to his wandering habits.**

 **Ageless is loosely inspired by the Yao Bikuni legend from Japan, in which a girl ate of a ningyo, became a nun and traveled, living for eight hundred years before finally returning to her hometown to commit suicide.**

 **The story of the dragon people and Avatar Ban is a reused plot device from an older story of mine which never saw the light of day. The dragon people were more or less 'Japanese Vikings', which is what gives Kyoshi Island it's Japanese like culture and customs.**

 **Languages that are all spoken or read are all real life languages. 'Dragon Speech' is Japanese, while 'Classical Air Nomad' is Classical Tibetan.**

 **Several locations that Korra and Ryou visit are either named after or inspired by locations in the real world or other fictions. For example; the island of Fengbao Dao is inspired both by Lian Yu from Arrow and Yamatai from the first Tomb Raider reboot. Luo Chui is both a reference to the old Norse legends about Thor, and a reference to Hammerfell in the Elder Scrolls series.**

 **Names of various characters also contained references. Takeko Nakano was a well known female Samurai in real life, while Ashe's name was inspired by Ashi from Samurai Jack.**

 **The Observer was, quite obviously, based on The Outsider from the Dishonored series, as were Ryou's sword and his more mystical abilities.**

 **Various songs have also played a roll in production. The overall theme song is 'Forbidden City' by Antti Martikainen. Other songs are 'Flight of the Silverbird' by Two Steps from Hell, for which the fishing boat and title of chapter sixteen come from. 'Shiroyama' by Sabaton, from which the town on Kyoshi Island draws it's name as well as the prophecy that foretells of Ryou's possible death.**

 **So yeah, that was a few facts about the story's production. Hopefully you find that somewhat entertaining and maybe a little interesting. Who knows. I couldn't have done this without the support of all of you, and I look forward to seeing you all in the next one.**

 **Long days and pleasant nights to you all.**

 **Jack.**


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